NOLA in September?
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Nancy, I am using Mederma, just started about 4 weeks out. I also used it after my last surgery. I'can't tell if it does anything or not... but just in case! I typically scar nicely, down to think little white lines, so hoping the same for this go round!!
Nordy, LOL, I had to crack up at your numb butt. If someone grabs your backside, you won't even know it!!! LOL. But, sure handy to get 48cc aspirated! I will also take you off our Stage 2 list! So sad for me!!
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Thats along Wait Gin- Hope everything sits fine until then.
Nordy glad you could find a Helpful PS!
Hopefully you wont need draining again.
Pam
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Yes Spring - I am very sad that I am going to miss out on all the fun!!! Hopefully they will hurry and get me in for my surgery here and then I can move forward! I meet w/the onc/gyn on the 27th. I am hoping that he gives me a bit more info about all of my options including HRT pros/cons as I have been told that I can't have it... so will see!
I used Scar Zone on my port scar years ago and I really think it helped. I believe it has green tea in it? I usually scar pretty well, but my left side has always gotten stretched a bit because I was always carrying one child or the other on my hip! This time I am being good... no carrying on the hip - at least trying not to! Now that I am allowed to pick them up again, I just want to snuggle them close and love on them! Maybe I will try the Mederma!
Tricia - since you just went for stage 2 - do they put you back in the dominatrix outfit (aka - crotchless black girdle) afterward? I bought Spanx but think I might return them as they do not feel like there is enough compression right now (I have a binder in addition to the girdle since apparantly I am just full of fluid... guess it is better than being full of... uh... lol).
K... gotta go break up the teasing and screaming occuring in my house right now... arghh...
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Yeh!!!! Lost one tummy drain yesterday. Only three more to go. The other tummy drain is under 20cc but they want it to stay put for another week since I am not even 2 weeks post op. I want to try to keep the butt drains in as long as possible since they seem to have more problems in general.
A comment on the good Drs at NOLA. Dr D told me prior to surgery that I would be 6-8 hrs, it turned out to be a 12 hrs surgery. They make sure that they take as much time as it takes to make sure those flaps are viable. My ta ta's were like a heat machine after surgery the blood flow was so good. It is so important to have skilled surgeons perform this type of surgery.
Nordy. Good to hear that you have relief from the fluid build up. Hopefully that is the end of it.
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Hi gals!
Wow! Some of you have had a bumpy ride! But you have such a great support group going here - I kind of feel like I'm butting in.... oooh, a really little joke.....
But...I'm just going to jump in here with another suggestion - don't know if it's come up yet. To try to minimize stretch marks (from the skin being stretched sooooo tight after DIEP - and I suppose GAP, too), Dr. D. suggested a cream with cocoa butter - Palmer's. I got it at Walgreens. Of course you're not supposed to start using it until the incisions are all healed.
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ok Liz called and got them to take me in today. They got about 20cc's from 2 hematomas in my right breast, got about 25cc's of fluid out of my axillia, and 140 cc's on the right side of my stomach incision and I think about 30-40 on the left side. Still puffy underarm and very tight there, but overall feel much better! Liz is going to go ahead and see if she can get me scheduled again for next Tues - just in case.... I can always call and cancel it. Still a little concerned about right breast, but think everything is gonna be ok. Yea!! Thanks again for the good vibes!!!
Ginnie
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Oh my goodness Gin! It is no wonder you have been so uncomfortable! Hurray for Liz and being on top of things! I hope that this weekend proves to be much more comfortable and less fluid producing!!!
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Holy Moly!!! Ginnie!!! You probably lost a few pounds getting aspirated!!
Seriously, feel better Gin!! i think getting that appt set up next week is a GREAT idea. also GLAD to Hear Liz called and pushed up your appt!!!
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I wish on "a few pounds" lol. Speaking of pounds, I have decided not to be upset because I have to delay stge 2 for chemo. Even with my ins changing at work, they cannot refuse treatment that has already started, and stage 2 IS part of my reconstruction. I also got to thinking - I will probably gain weight with chemo since most people do, and it might be better to have lipo AFTER chemo than before, huh? Will let you guys know how I am doing...in the meantime - glad you are all doing so great!!! I told the girl doing the ultrasound today that even with the problems, I am glad I took the route I took. And, by the way, glad I came here and found you ladies!!
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Wow, Gin that is a ton of Fluids! Good that Liz got you in somewhere!
I think tht sounds like a good idea to take 'advantage' of stage 2 after Chemo.
Its Nice to hear you still do not regret Your route.
I GAP 4 weeks from today! Nerves are touchy.
Pam
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Gin, so glad that you got some relief! I had a hugr hematoma on side of right breast. It is still very sensitive to touch. The colors changed from dark red to purple to yellow. It was an early fall lol. Also from gravity it made my side of rib cage all the way down to hip turn colors.
You have a road ahead of you and my prayers are going out to you- hoping that chemo is not too bad. Good plan for stage 2.
Pam - all will go well for you in 4 weeks! Do any Holiday shoppping now.
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Happy? Did the hematoma affect how the skin felt? I emailed Liz yesterday - there is a sorta dark "ring" so to speak on the outside of the right breast, and especially right next to the incision - the skin is very "rough" is the only way to describe it. Hoping for the best...... Being aspirated has DEFINITELY helped!!!
Gin
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Ginnie so good to hear that you are feeling much better. Wow they took a ton from your tummy . Great that Liz got you in early and I would hang on to that next week appointment just in case. Good luck with your chemo and just think about how great your body will look like after stage 2.
Today is two weeks post op for me. Yeh!!!!!!! What a difference a week makes.
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Hi Fellow Warriors!! I haven't checked this page lately and I think I spent an hour just reading on all of you!!
Ginne...I hope this message finds you feeling MUCH better!
Linda- YES..I did have Massey w/the good ol boys of NOLA. I had her and Dellacroce..the best of both worlds...she is working in Charleston and NOLA (as well as Chicago and Salt Lake City)
I am just shy of 5 weeks out. I am feeling good. I do yoga everyday and stand on my head for meditation. LOL..KIDDING...ha ha gotcha ya!! I want to do yoga but the DIEP incision isn't ready yet...maybe in a couple weeks..lol I am a smart a@@..sorry
I am still in compression bascially 24 hrs a day til 6 week mark then I can just wear it daily...I just wear the spanx and a great soft wireless bra from VS.
I am excited for those of you coming up!! My thoughts and prayers are with each of you no matter what part of this journey you are on!! xo
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Warrior, I was sitting here with chin on my lap concerning the Yoga!!! you stinker....
Actually, I *have* been doing physical therapy exercises for about a week (should have started earlier, but could not find the sheets!) and this is really helping range of motion and that soreness you feel when you life your arms.
I have a Yoga tape and was thinking of seeing how much of that my body could do!!! I will report back when i try it.
Stephanie, 2 weeks ! Woot! You are doing so very well!
Gin, I hope your remain comfortable!
I am 5 weeks today... still sore/burning skin under/between breasts, but a tad bit less so. It is my main pain. I have no drains, no compression garments, and my belly and butt incisions, and poke holes for drains, are all fine! Belly sometimes tight at end of day, but otherwise, it's just the boob skin/nerves!!
Spring.
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YAY! Warroir and Spring- 5 week mark! You got me with that yoga joke , Warrior! I was thinking what is wrong with me that I am not at the gym! Spring- I feel tightness in my legs and sometimes my breasts just feel strange like not part of me but then sometimes I am not aware of them. I hope your burning goes away soon!
I am 6 weeks tomorrow and starting wearing my jeans!!! Normal pants and not elastic waist bands. My thigh incisions are still sensitive but looking good- now that the glue is coming off-with a little help of picking -thanks to SPring telling me to do that. I just now starting picking glue off my breast incisions. Appetite is coming back and getting more energy. waking up at 5:30 am- my normal pre surgery time but not yet ready to hit the gym! Meet with Dr allen on Monday in NYC to have him look at me and discuss second stage. It will be 10 years Oct 16th for DH and me so we are spending the weekend in Manhattan!! making the doctors appointment into a get away. I hope I am up for the walking around....
MAck6- YAY two weeks. How are you feeling??
Gin- my hematoma enlarged about 4 hours post surgerya nd I almost went back in OR. I have pics of it and it was HUGE (size of a grapefruit) Dr Allen monitored it and decided that it would dissolve on its own. I think so close to surgery- it pushed flap up towards center a bit (my hard spot) It was right around where drain was. The skin was sensitive and hurt a lot. When I touch there now -it is still a bit harder and skin is rougher.and slightly ever so slightly more swollen than other side. I had that drain in for two weeks and produced dark blood (yuk)
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Happy is getting up at 5:30AM...
Warrior, I wonder if that will happen to you and me, next week when we hit 6 weeks???
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. <<that was a joke>>....
I am sleeping like crap! Awake last night between 230-7. Finally fell back to sleep, then DH was locked out of house!!! ahhhck!!! I feel cranky today. LOL.
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Umm... I am 7 weeks as of today and I can tell you right now that I am not getting up at 5:30... LOL but then I would not be up at 5:30 normally!
Let's talk about how much I produce fluid.... LOL. I just had another 25 cc drained off my R hip today. AND, this time she poked me in a spot that I had sensation in - OUCH! I hit some pretty high pitched note today!!! My PS here is talking about placing a very small drain back in the hip to allow drainage but so small that the inside can heal like it is supposed to with out having the fluid keep the area open where the original drain had been. I don't know if I like this idea, but it probably beats the heck out of being poked in the butt twice a week!!! I have another appt. on Monday. I also have a spot on each hip that is still not all the way healed (very very small) and she thinks that may be from the dominatrix outfit zippered area rubbing right there - even though I pad it up w/abd pads. SO - she suggested the Spanx. If you follow the Spanx thread at all - you know that I bought them and returned them thinking they did not have enough compression. SO, I went back - went into a size smaller (now I am in a small) and hopefully this will be enough compression without seams to hold me all in and keep from developing further fluid!!! Other than the fluid issues - I feel GREAT. I am chomping at the bit to go biking and back to yoga (Warrior- you are so funny, by the way) but have been told to keep the activity to a minimum until the butt has stopped producing so much fluid.
On a high note, I just want to say:
V-Neck Shopping Spree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
((((I love my boobs, I love my boobs, I love, love, love my boobs!!!!)
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Warrior you had me going...I was thinking Gosh I cant even stand on my head...Since I was a teen!
Still draining Nordy! Sorry to hear. Im glad you have a PS to help you out though.
Im excited to hear about your V Neck Shopping spree!
That sounds Awesome!
They will think you are crazy with all your buying & Returns fo Spanx. LOL
A size smaller. That sounds hard to get on!
I still have my Maidenforms...I was goign to re try them on before I returned them..>As I can return them in Jan or when ever anyway.
But I bought a size large then the chart!
So even still- I bet I should at least exchange them.
I hope the spanx work for you.
Pam
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Yes Nordy, lets talk about your fluid- LOL Wow that is a lot of fluid but glad it is coming out and not staying in! You need to wear V- necks all Winter long- I hope you are somewhere warm- if not WHo Cares? Show them off, Sister!! BUT until then- please try and listen to the doctor and keep the activity to a minimum- no standing on your head like Warrior
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Wow, Nordy, a Small SPANX??? You must look like a friggin long tall drink of water, woman!!! I believe Dr. Massey has passed on the dominatrix outfit compression garments from HE77 exactly because of skin issues.
I don't know. maybe a teensy drain would be better than getting stuck in the butt 2x a week?? Maybe go another week and decide??? Let us know what you DO!!!
V-necks - JOY!!!
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Yes- I am certain the people at Nordstroms think I am bonkers, but you know they are so nice there that they would never say anything! Believe it or not, those spanx are easier to get on than the Maidenform ones (note to you Pam - you may be able to go down a size in the Spanx brand!). And, yes, Spring, I think Dr. Massey told me something like that when I saw her for my post op... LOL, I actually saw her more than I saw Dr. S! (I think she adopted me because we had spoken back in January on the phone and because my girlfriend used her for her DIEP).
Happy - maybe if I stood on my head, the fluid would drain away from my butt... LOL
Yes - V-necks... I bought 3 and it is the first time I have been able to wear them in... forever! I am loving it soooo much. I cannot believe how much confidence it has given me to have breasts of all things! Go figure... sometimes you don't know how much oyou missed something until you have it back. I mean, I knew I missed them, but I guess I didn't realize just how much. As soon as I can go without compression, I am getting into some lingerie... I don't think I have worn any of that since before I was pregnant with my first daughter... Won't my hubby be surprised!!!
I think our new song should be "Sexy Back"...
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You girls are hilarious! So glad it does not hurt to laugh!! I have been emailing back and forth with Liz, bless her heart for putting up with me. I'll send an email...then think of something else I wanted to tell her, and send another one, lol. She has me scheduled for another aspiration session next Tues at 11AM, so I don't have to worry about getting it scheduled at last min. Hope I am not too uncomfortable by Tues.....actually am hoping I will be able to cancel appt and not need it at all!! Anyway, just waiting to see how things go. Spring - I have had some "skin sensitivity" mainly on left breast, so know how you feel. I have always been "big-breasted" but went to dinner with daughter, and dropped a bit of baked potato in my "cleavage" I told my daughter, I have always had cleavage, but it used to be they touched each other, this is the 1st time in a long time I actually had "cleaveage with a space between my breasts! lmao Not as funny as you , warrior, but good story to me!!
Ginnie
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Nordy, I think I missed somewhere who you had for doctors. Were they Massey and Sullivan? I have Dr. M, but in SC. Surgery coming soon......Nov. 12 at Roper in Charleston. This is nerve racking!!! Glad you NOLA girls are so candid about everything.
Linda
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Hi ladies! I'm really late checking in here. I just got home Wednesday night. So many posts...I tried to skim as much as I could.
My BILATERAL HIP was scheduled for Tuesday 9/29. This is not GAP, but a bit higher. Unfortunately I had a failure on the left side. I was in surgery for over nine hours, and Dr. S was never able to close my left side. It was an unusual case of small blood vessels....compression seemed good, etc, but then each time he went to close, the flow would stop. This was certainly not his fault, just a quirk with my body. He basically left it open, and we talked the following morning. The breast seemed to look better, so we decided to watch and see if it improved enough to go back in the OR to finish. Unfortunately, it didn't get ant better beyond that point. I ended up going BACK into ANOTHER surgery on Friday and he did a STACKED DEIP to replace the left failed breast, 7 hours and two units of blood. I ended up being discharged Monday, saw him on Tues (my original post op date) and flew home Wednesday.
Considering I have now been cut almost ALL the way around my body, I'm doing well. Today is one week post-op SECOND surgery. I started with 6 drains and 2 on-q balls. Breast drains were pulled Tuesday as well as the on-q. They had told me to keep them another day, but I asked them to remove them. I was just too tethered! I came home with four drains.
I'm happy to say that one drain was pulled yesterday, and my second stomach drain was pulled today. Now I'm just down to two hip drains! Woohoo!!!
Dr. Sullivan is an amazing, compassionate physician. I could truly see the hurt on his face as he told me there was a problem with one breast. It hadn't happened to him in over a year. These guys really do care....
I'm walking and getting around....and I only have to wear a bike short or shaper, he released me from the torture girdle right away! This is big news for me, because I cannot stand anything squeezing my midsection! Ex: I buy tights for 200 pound women and I weigh about 130...just so they don't squeeze me!! WOOHOO
I haven't had boobs in almost nine years. I must be a D right now, although I may settle into a C (my original request). The funniest things happen...like I looked down to see my incision but MY BOOBS WERE IN THE WAY. And when I brushed my teeth, MY BOOBS WERE JIGGLING. I have CLEAVAGE. I also found that the boobs can easily hold the drain belt up out of the way when I need to adjust my clothing...how convenient is that?? LOLOLOL
So, I took a bumpy ride, but I have a surprise flat tummy that I didn't expect on Stage 1. I'm still planned for Stage 2 Dec.9.
Hope you all are well....and in skimming did I see that someone else had to have a second surgery as well? Apologies on not naming names, but I hope you are ok!
Carolynn
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Carolynn,
Thanks for sharing your "bumpy road" story. These are tough, tough surgeries. Flap failures are rare, but they happen. And having a compassionate surgeon really helps you get through it. I know to the surgeon that losing a flap is like losing a child--these surgeons grieve the loss deeply.
BUT--you're on the road to recovery with jiggly boobs. Yay! Hang in there. You've been through a lot. Let yourself take all the time you need to heal!
Anne
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Wow, lots of stuff happening here. I am so sorry to read about the bumpy roads, but glad that everyone is doing well and healing despite it!
I had 2 seromas after stage 1 also. They had to be drained twice, then absorbed on their own. So hang in there all you juicy ladies!
I remember the first time I felt my new boobs bounce...I was ECSTATIC!!! So enjoy them! I still love running up down the stairs without a bra on! Makes me grin everytime.
Speaking of bouncing boobs, I had to buy sports bra yesterday. WOW! The good ones are expensive! I am 4 weeks today, so no more holding back in exercise class and I needed a good one to keep these girls perky and healthy! I am already down 2 sizes since before stage 1. And I have lost over 10 pounds from stage 2 and then exercise this past week. I feel AMAZING!
Okay..off to go spread some Passion! Take care ladies!
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Ginnie, You sound good!! Your "cleavage" not touching each other story reminds me of those old bra commercialts, "LIFT AND SEPARATE"!! LOL.
Oh Carolynn, You have been through a lot!! You know he did EVERYTHING e could do, and if anybody could have made it work, those NOLA guys re the ones. Don't feel bad. You are not alone with incisions nearly ll the way around you. Both Stephanie and I also have both DIEP (belly) ncisions and the butt (lumbar) ones. (We were scheduled for stacked DIEP/lumbars). The other lady who had to have a second surgery was Danny. (for a failing flap) and hers was saved. There was another lady here who also had a second surgery I think for fluid build up!
My update: I went to my Cancer Center to get a flu shot today. While I was there, the nurse navigator whisked me into an exam room and went and got my ONC. it was SHOW AND TELL time! They both wanted to see the new "girls".
They were SO IMPRESSED!!! And I reminded them, this is only phase 1!! The ONC, (a lady), said, can I please touch them? So she did and shook her head side to side, in disbelief!! How soft, how real. They are now referring patients to NOLA, I will be coaching another lady soon - she will be the third!! Both the ONC and nurse navigator said they "want to go down there" - I think like an onocolgy field trip!! LOL.. They are utterly amazed.
Spring.
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Carolynn, Im so sorry to hear this.
Im glad your Boobs are in the way! You sound like you are doing very good...Considering all your surgery & A surprise DIEP : (
Spring- Your Show & Tell Sounds Awesome!
Pam
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Some of my Stupid Humor here...
I sent dh a link that described Step By Step Gaps.
So he looked it over And said why not the IGAP?
I said- I think I will just have a Cankle Gap Instead.
Those Drs are so creative now. LOL
Pam
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