NOLA in September?
Comments
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Sandy and Liz, I added your Jan surgeries. !!!
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Nordy, I REMEMBER you having that dream, LOL!!!
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I'm just 4 weeks out from Stage 1 and already thinking ahead to Stage 2. What's your advice -- can I go ahead and schedule it for 3 months out (mid Feb) or is it better to wait longer? My family is planning on a tropic vacation this spring --- April or May. What can I realistically expect? Will I feel up to it? Be able to wear a bathing suit? I know everyone is different but it might help to hear some personal experiences.
Foob: my boobs are still here this morning and it felt so refreshing to be braless. The sides, especially under my armpits, the bra seems to be a constant irritation.
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I have had breakfast, did a few laps around the hall, grabbed an Icee and am sitting in the recliner. I feel so much better. The only source of pain is on the left side right under my bra where I ended up with a drain. Dr s said he doesn't expect me to have to keep it but a few days. He will take it out at my follow up if it hasn't already been removed. So that is good news. I hate the drains. Even more than the Dom and I really hate the Dom. I asked, they don't come in Tall. So I guess I will have to go with the pickin' & pullin' method for a while. I did ask if I could switch to the Spanx when I got home and was told yes. I was told any type of garment that provides sufficient compression is acceptable regardless of the brands. I wish I had remembered to pack them and I could have switched once I was back at Hope Lodge. I bought 3 pairs of Spanx and 1 Marena (sp) so I should be good to go. Surely they will be more comfortable than this outfit. Got them on ebay for really good prices. I love ebay.
Dr S ended up completely removing the flaps. My breasts look beautiful. He tickled me at my pre-op when he was marking on my breasts. He kept closing one eye. I asked him if that was his secret to symmetry.. He said it works every time. He said he would give me nipples at my follow-up visit next week. I am excited about that. I should be released sometime today. And I am going to see if I can move my follow-up appointment to Monday so I can go home sooner but I don't know if that will be an option since Dr S wanted my incisions to heal some before he did the nipples.
All in all I would have to say I feel good. Of course I don't know if that is because I still have pain meds in my system from yesterday or if it is just good fortune. I'll take it either way.
Good Luck to those coming up next and Happy Healing to those who are still in recovery mode. Be good to yourself.
-- Ann
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THANK YOU Melindasta, Xfitgirl and Gin52, I appreciate your help. I've just had a very insensitive person tell me "some women only take tylenol on discharge" and that I "seem to be expressing more pain than is typical". The nerve pain is just in one spot and that was my question. So I get this lecture from a non medical person. I thought it was very unprofessional and a medical professional wouldn't have once made remarks comparing me to other patients, the ideal patient---you know the one, the one who gave birth in the field and then resumed plowing, THAT gal. She probably had a bilateral with local anesthesia too. Wow I can't measure up. Here I was believing how brave I've been through all this! ha!! OK GOT THAT OFF MY CHEST (without anesthesia)
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foobs: stupid people say stupid things...
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Foobs-- GRRRRR I just hate it when people say things like that! I had a horrible experience getting my drains out after my mastectomy in my local PS's office. The PA said it wouldn't hurt at all, but it hurt ALOT and she made a biting remark about how all the other women whose drains she has pulled were fine, blah blah. I felt so wimpy and embarrassed until I heard from another women that she screamed when her drains were pulled. SO--the point being that pain is a very indivualized thing and it's not just about pain tolerance either.
I'm pretty sure I was taking a pain pill at night at 4 weeks out, or least some of the nights. Taking some pain medication 4 weeks post op does not seeme extereme to me at all.
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Foobs...you are not alone. I had bilateral S-GAP in NOLA in 2005 and was on pain meds for 6 weeks after stage 1. Of course, I wasn't taking as much toward the end of the 6 weeks as I was at the beginning. I remember feeling like a wimp because so many of my NOLA support board buddies at that time were done with their meds while still in the hospital or shortly after. I obviously have a low tolerance for pain, but had no problem stopping the drugs as soon as my pain subsided to a tolerable level.
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I think it is not just individual pain tolerance, but also has a lot to do with what was actually done on the table. Back when I had my original bilat + expanders I was not prepared for the weeks of pain I endured because I had been reading about all those ladies who just a couple weeks out were doing this and that. It was all I could do to walk to the mailbox by week 3. No kidding! With the SGap I just had I was prepared for horrible pain but was able to get off the hard stuff very quickly. Go figure?
Main thing is don't beat yourself up. If you need the meds take them and if you can do downhill sking in a month, well then power to you! I'll just be curled up in my comfy chair with my hot toddy thank you
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Since I joined the "pee in the pants" brigade a couple of weeks ago I thought I would share my "fix". (Yes, first day back at work
) Instead of color coordinating, (wearing black panties with the black dom.), I now make a point to wear the most colorful or patterned underwear I have. That way when I pull down my yoga pants before I pee I see bright color! Hope that helps someone from making the same mistake I did. 0 -
Dear foobs,
Was that at the hospital? I had an interesting situation with one of the nurses. I was having reactions to my meds(nausea and dizziness) and she made me feel like she couldn't figure out what was wrong with me and that wasn't normal. She ended up giving me a shot of something(not sure what) and I had to stay an extra day. When I got my rx filled, right there on the side effects was dizziness, nausea, among other things. I even told her I had issues last time with meds but she definitely made me feel uncomfortable like everyone else handles it fine. I would be curious if you knew her name.
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Foobs, what an idiot! Who cares what "other people" feel. If you are in pain, you are in pain! Good friggin grief. As Nordy said, stupid people say stupid things! Reminds me of when I was in chemo and got peripheral neuropathy in my hands and fingers. I researched on the Web and saw that L-Glutamin gave relief, in a few studies. So I tried it, and it worked for me! My onc said, "There is no medical proof that works:" and I said, "Well, It works for me." I mean doy.
Journey, good fix!!
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Ann, I am glad your breasts are beautiful. what do you mean he "removed the flaps"? do you mean the circles that were bothering you? Isn't it great Dr. S is doing nipples in the office!!! Report back on that. I also had a little drain after stage 2B recently, but they took it out before I left the hopspital. How much is yours putting out?
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Drain infection even though both drains are out now (right butt cheek). Heading to the pharmacy for Levaquin. The fun never ends. Ugh!
Spring - Thanks for the add.
Foobs - Be patient and don't give a rats what others think. This is your only one body. Treat it right!
Journey - I'm still wearing the DOM. One more week to go. Maybe I never pee'd in my pants 'cause I simply don't wear any
It gets a little breezy down there when the weather is cooler but other than that it feels very liberating Your idea on bright colored panties is great though!acarr - DX in 1990! So great to see a long time survivor on here. Were you triple negative? Please share your survival secrets with us. Congrats! We all aspire to be like you.
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Also, just wanted to let you ladies know that I was able to pull my drain today. It was hardly putting anything out and it really hurt at the sight. So, taking Minnesota's advice, I told my husband he could help me. He got all squeemish and I told him that Dragonfly's grandmother pulled hers so he agreed to help. So, I get everything ready and he's like,I need to get my magnifying glass. While he was getting it, I figured here goes nothing and pulled it out. It was such a relief for me and for him-LOL! Just wanted to share that funny story!
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Foobs, don't worry about what someone else says. Only you know your body and you should listen to it instead of stupid people who are clueless. You can't fix stupid. The sad part is they probably don't even realize how stupid and insensitive they are. Just feel sorry for them and secretly gloat that you aren't stupid!
Everyone on this sight knows without a shadow of a doubt how strong you are to have come this far. In fact, as strange as it may sound, I am kinda proud to have proven myself tough enough to battle with cancer. We are all strong women and we should be proud as well. Don't let some thoughtless fool take that from you.
I agree with Journey, it has nothing to do with pain tolerance. We each and every one have had extremely individualized treatments. No two have been the same. There are different kinds of pain and different levels of pain. Some people are more tolerant than others but I guarantee we all have our limits. Only you know how you feel so please, please, please be kind to yourself and proud of yourself. And pity the fool!
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dbdaze - you will be ready for Stage 2 by 12 weeks. After that, you may have some endurance/fatigue issues for a few weeks, so when you are planning your vacation dates keep that in mind. I coordinated my Stage 2 dates so that I was at 7 weeks post op from Stage 2 by my daughter's wedding. That meant that my Stage 2 date was at 11.5 weeks. But I did not want to be too worn out with all the last minute wedding stuff which I knew we'd be working with. In the end, I was feeling very good by week 2, but had fatigue issues till about week 5. Also, I needed a mother-of-the-bride dress, yet I had swelling from tummy lipo. Fortunately, it went down around week 5 and I could go shopping. Everyone's different, for sure. That was my timeframe.
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I am back at the Hope Lodge. Kicked back in the recliner just taking it easy waiting for my pain pill to kick in. I am sore from the knees up. I haven't looked to see what all he has done. I am afraid if I see, I will hurt worse. I peeked down my dom and saw purple. So that is enough for me. See, I am one of those people who can hang out in denial for extended periods of time. So as long as I don't see how bad it looks I will feel much better. I know that is a bit strange but as my 87 year old neighbor once told me, "It would be a mighty boring world without the strange folks." I find a lot of truth in that. When I take my shower I am going to do it with my eyes closed! I'm serious.
Springtime, Dr S completely removed my patches. I took in a couple of pictures I had printed off the internet to show him what I was talking about. He said he could leave me the flap big enough for the areola but he thought he could get a better outcome by just removing the entire flap and reshaping the breast altogether. He would just remove the surface skin, not any of the underlying tissue. And that's what he did. Amazing!!
So now I will just have one thin line across. He is doing my nipples in his office on Monday. I'm excited about that. I still have the drains in but they are barely putting anything out. I am sure he will pull them Monday when I go in.
And my boobs are absolutely beautiful. I can't hardly wait until I get home so I can show everyone. Aren't I shameless? But I consider it sharing information. I wouldn't care if every woman I come in contact with looked at them if it helped to get the information out there that we do have great options. Just think, if I had known in September '09 about NOLA before I had my mastectomy I could have saved myself so much pain and misery and disappointment and disgust, and the list goes on and on.
I'll keep everyone posted. Take care.
--Ann
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Thank you gals for your input re insenstive. I always try nicely-- if possible-- to correct those remarks being made. Every time I correct someone & make them stop and think about how friggin nasty they sounded, I hope it helps the next sister and she doesn't have to endure that. GEEZ we've fought off cancer!. You would think that would raise fear in them when they see us, at least a little respect. ha!! Just think if a game were made of the obstacles of breast cancer treatment. Wow I can think of some cool names for us girls. And how much fun to kick some ass that needs kickin!!
Just4ann, thanks for sharing with us, i know you don't feel worth a hoot right now. your sharing helps others facing stage II. I just wanna get it over with though I'm dreading it!!
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Springtime
Don't you just love a horse? Sometimes I just have to smell them, hug a neck and I feel better. theyre better than medicine!
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mamaluch... lol! I pulled mine today too..... I wonder if we pulled them at the exact same time... about 12:30 pm here.. lol. It was a hip drain and it was weird.. way shorter than my other hip drains... I expected it to be way longer so I'm pulling it and it just kinda flopped out early.... lol.... Good to be drain free... once that happens, you start to feel human again...
foobs - pain meds... different for everyone and no one should judge anyone else that's for sure... After my surgeries, even Stage 1 SGAP, I didn't feel enough pain to where I felt I needed them. But I did take them at night with the intention of knocking myself out so I wouldn't roll or move around too much. I'm doing that now too... I'm a very light sleeper, have always had sleep issues anyway (especially sleeping on my back) and I'm enjoying the deep sleep that I'm getting from the lortab..... would that constitute misuse of the drug?
Whatever.....I'm doin it.xfit - sorry about the infection.... !! Boy, Stage 2 is going to seem like a piece of cake to you!!!
jinger - hope all went well and you are resting peacefully
just4ann - glad to hear you are happy 0 -
Holtbolt- you are too funny. I pulled it approx.10:30 eastern standard day. We should do the happiness dance together, that and bms improving daily!
I hope all you ladies are feeling a little better each day!
It's so nice that we are all here for each other-Thank God!
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Thanks for the responses about the cramps. I had my hysterectomy two years ago, and my surgical oncologist told me that if we were in Europe, I'd be done with Tamoxifen after the surgery, but my oncologist was adamant that I remain on it. 22 months left!
Eve, I'll try bumping up the vitamins and see if that helps. I did Pilates for the first time today and my right foot cramped up and I had to jump up. Sometimes, just stretching my legs or feet while sitting with them elevated will trigger it. Last night, no leg cramps but my abdomen was clenching up, hard as a rock. I woke up feeling like I'd been working out all night. Hmmm, maybe that's a good thing!
Ann, that was so sweet of you to respond. Your post was so funny---I love it when we post when we are woozy. Glad that you are doing so well.
Glad you ladies are feeling better sans drains! Liz, waiting to hear what happened today!
We spent a few hours with a contractor today, going over the changes we want made to what will be the new home for the business. This month is our slowest time of year and I was really hoping we'd be moving the last week of December, but it just isn't going to happen. I've been on edge for weeks and finally told myself that I cannot control this; that worrying about moving once business picks up isn't going to get us into our new place any sooner. The guy we met with today told me he'll need 30 days. We leave for NOLA on January 11th. Arrgggghhhh!!!!! Anyway, we are working really hard to prepare for the move, so I apologize for being slow to respond to messages. I will answer!
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Sandy - Both my local Medical Center and my lymphedema therapist don't think I have a seroma. The area around the incision is pinkish with a small reddish area too. They both think I may have a slight infection even though my bloodwork came back with a white blood cell count of 7. I was prescribed Doxycycline and have to go back Monday for a follow up. If the MC feels necessary they will do an ultrasound to check fluid.
This is a time I so wish Dr D was closer so he could see it himself. I sent him a pic but it came our redder than reality so it looks more alarming.
So....no aspiration for today. I hope the antibiotic clears it up over the weekend.
Have a great weekend!
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Sandy - Got a different antibiotic and have to go back for a follow up on Monday.
Thanks for taking my call.
Have a great weekend.
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dbdaze - I had Stage 2 11 weeks after bilateral SGAP and was fine. Other women on this thread told me it wouldn't be a problem, and it wasn't. I'd say I would have been ready for a tropical vacation about 4 - 6 weeks after Stage 2.
Holt - Congrats on being drain free . . . . forever!
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Thank you all for the good wishes. I'm doing GREAT. Surgery went from about 11-4 yesterday, and although sleepy on the pain meds, I felt good right away. (And my peeking indicates I'll be VERY pleased with the results. Minn: Not even close to "coaster" abilities anymore! Yay! Worst surgery for me was the first Stage 2 which included plication. Then Stage 1 Diep was relatively painful. This one is a piece of cake (knock on wood). I'm even trying to change my plane reservations to tomorrow, when I originally planned on staying until Tuesday based on my past experiences.
I'm in Room 213 if anyone is here and wants to say "hi". : )
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Good to hear everyone from this week is doign good.
xfitgirl. I hope the new Antibiotics work!
Good to hear 3 of you are now Drain free!
Good Luck to all of you next week!
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Hi all! So glad everyone seems to be doing well, or at least getting any issues addressed! I had my last herceptin treatment last Thursday. A little scary to be done with treatment and not sure what follow ups will be done since I wont be having mammos, but I meet with my onc on 12/30 and will get a game plan then. Stage 2 has been SOOOOOOOOOOO much easier for me! It is amazing how well everything has been healing compared to what I went thru with Stage 1. So everyone is right - healing is VERY different for everyone, and sometimes different for us based on what is happening for us at that time. Being done with chemo has definitely made the healing from stage 2 much better, and I also need to thank whoever first mentioned the Arnica Montana on here. That stuff is amazing!!
Hugs and prayers to all.....
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I'm back. I have had my shower, my coffee, my breakfast and my walk. I am feeling pretty good considering. I confess, I cheated on the not peeking during the shower and was pleasantly surprised that there is very little bruising. But lots of swelling still! I mean lots. Hopefully that will go away soon. My drains are barely putting out anything so maybe they will be gone soon. I have ace bandages around my knees. I don't know why they didn't just put me in something that went to the ankles. Every time I move the ace bandages are slipping down. Annoying. As soon as I get home I am switching to spankx. It has to be more comfortable. I also bought one of the Marena suits. I am anxious to see which I like better.
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