NOLA in September?
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MINNASOTA you have NOT set up that voicemail yet. I tried to call and would love to see you if at all possible while your in Ithaca. Tell your son Congrats, I am sure you and Gary are so very proud.
Nordy, WOW the power of prayers. I am so glad it is not serious, I am still waiting to see when they scheduled my surgery, I have to clean the belly button out 2 times a day. I am no longer on an antibiotic. I was for 10 days and as soon as I went off it the infection came back, It drains. Some days it drains so I have to where a bandage so it does not get on my clothes other days it does not drain as bad,
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Nordy, your good news makes my heart sing!!!!! And I have champagne here on my desk...just might have to open it! LOL
I'm seven weeks out from having the abdominal incision revision, and have been faithfully massaging the scar with the Tropolactive cream that LouAnn loves so much, at least twice per day. I think the massaging is really helping me avoid most of the swelling I expected to have given the extent of the revision that was done, plus I think the incisions look much smoother and thinner this time. I am really looking forward to having the tattooing done and being finished!
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Amy, 7:30PM is fine, can I bring my family? I have a husband and two daughters 18 and 21!! I would like to bring them to meet you all. So there will be 4 of us!! We will just walk there from the Homewood Suites. I see it is on Canal Street. If anybody else wants to walk with us from the Homewood, let me know!
KC, what anne said! DOM RELEASE!!! YAY!!!!
We leave tomorrow morning, and stay overnight somewhere in Alabama, Very exciting.
NORDY NORDY NORDY NORDY!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY for oily cysts that sound gross but who the hell cares!!!! What Sandy says! Hearts singing!! Whooop!!! Sorry on the appeal, but you are so smart to be in touch with the DOL. Let us know what you find out. YOU GO GIRL!!
Sally, hang in there girl!!! You will sure be glad to have that bellybutton back to "normal"...
FOURBOY!!! Hang in there!!! Report how you're doing, when you can!!
Bye ladies, I may not be online for a while, as Minn said!!!
Love love love, Spring.
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Thank you everyone!!! And you all have a fabulous weekend!
Sally - let me know when they say you are having surgery.
Trishia - waiting to hear on your tests... anything yet?
Safe travels this weekend for all that are traveling!
Happy healing to Fourmom, Laurie and AnneN and Ann!
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Spring-I'd love to walk over with you. I'll see if my family wants to come, but I"m guessing my kids would prefer to swim in the hotel pool!
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OK....all the girls IN NOLA- have a WONDERFUL time!......I wanna see pics...on FB? on BC.org? somewhere!......I am happy you all get to have a mini reunion!...or just union/meet? and greet in person....sheesh....does anyone else feel like we already know each other despite never having met in person?
Nordy...........YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! AND keep going on the labor dept/appeal, etc you're getting action....and you're helping more than YOU but we all want YOU to be satisfied...but you better fly thru love for a layover or a day early...I still have the V-neck I promised you......and I still owe Spring a bikini too!
OK.....feel free to just scroll on down because I know how I am...BUT for inquiring minds.......I learned today I have a new 'breast friend'............My GYN MD! I'm good...eggos w/o cysts, uterus looks great(who cares? I don't -but being hormonally too sensitive and still pre-meno....I'm ok leaving things as they are.....for now). So this GYN I picked august 2009 pre stage 1 about 6 mos into Tamox I was experiencing a lot of womanly 'issues'.....Me being the barren spinster-no need to have a specialist previously. I chose this woman because she is a very NICE person/excellent specialty MD and she treats many of the pts where I work(I' m a pedi rec room nurse)..........we do several cases of adolescent girls who have ovarian masses, etc.....The MD is great w/ the families and kids...I really got an education on Estrogen release during breast/ovarian procedures and how it effects the pt...............anyhoo.....they put me in her 'fertility clinic' day- because that was the quickest fit then....only thing is I have to stay in that 'clinic' due to UTSW weirdness......who cares!......So.....Today I was just doing routine gyno stuff- pelvic/pap, and US of ovaries/endometrial biopsies due to Tamox. We did all that, she brought up somehow w/ the nurse I had had BC and bilat mastect and then she impressed me because she remembered details-that I went to NOLA- at that point I showed my breasts and explained I was SO happy, best thing I'd ever done!-I'm much less neurotic now! And as they both looked at my breasts and said "wow, they look great!" I had to give the whole explanation as to why I left D/FW to do this......I explained how and why I chose Dr. D and Nola using the politically correct but honest version-I DO love my local guy BUT I thought I wanted GAP- he wasn't doing it then and I DID want a teamed surgery to shorten anesthesia time- AND I didn't want to be naked w/ the people I work w/ AGAIN!...............They laughed, said yes, I get that!.......at any rate, my GYN proceeded to tell me after the nurse left "You know I had BC last year?"....I just said "NO!" How did I miss that?" We probably talked for 30 minutes....she had a lobular issue-5 CM!!!!!-didn't show on mammo, she's 54-looks GREAT, very athletic, I think plays tennis.....anyhoo...she told me she had a bilateral mastectomy and implant recon AND she had total hyst. Her mom had had uterine CA and there was some other ? family history.....anyhoo She is 54 and it was almost like she was validating me...and went on to tell me she is now on Tamoxifen. Apparently she has a friend in Fla who is BRCA 1 or 2 and was stage 3 who told her she wanted to go to Nola to get her implants replaced...My doc(Ellen) went on to tell me her implants were uncomfortable-'they pinch'...we spoke at length...and I felt horrible because before I knew all her issues I was droning on w/ the nurse about how part of the reason I chose Dr D was due to the fact I would look like I'd had only lift/reduction not(as I gestured)'hi I had a mastectomy'.....I SO hope my MD does not have those scars! Anyhoo...we definitely had special bonding time and I did most definitely feel she was NOW well versed w/ Tamox/etc issues and BC pts......just another NICE to have someone in or corner story...nonehteless......makes me SICK I've met yet ANOTHER friend dealing w/ this crap! Ok ladies have a fab fri pm! xoxo!
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PS - The US DOL said that the revisions SHOULD be covered. She thinks maybe wording in some of the paperwork they asked for from Dr. S is making it sound like there is nothing more they can do for me kind of thing??? She said that is the only way they should determine that it is not medically necessary because it is up to me and the attending... And the fact that the used a letter from my local PS that had absolutely NOTHING to do with my reconstruction; she said is WRONG. So, I have been on the phone to the company that does pre-auths to ask them exactly what they used in the appeal to come to their decision. Anyway, on we go... my hubby offered to get a second job to pay for my revisions out of pocket... seriously. I really should appreciate him more because how many husbands would actually offer that?!!!
Yes, I have much to be thankful for this Christmas...
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Nordy - Yay on dr report.....boo on insurance! Still in my prayers for that now that dr issues are good. Good luck and prayers for a wonderful outcome for all our Dec gals. Springtime, I wish I could be there to meet your daughters! I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Christmas! I love you all!!!
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Nordy i'm so happy for you. How awesome. Thank God!!!!
I am in my room at Fairway. not in pain and very happy (morphine pca) . I have nipples.
Sunday evening sounds great. I'd like to bring hubby too.
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i' so happy with my results. I have nipples yhou can hang an ornament on. i know they get smaller with time.
I would have NEVER come down here if it werent for this thread. THANK YOU and packing up ladies.....you r in the best hands ever. I know its hard not to be anxious but take a deep breath and k ow yhou will love this place and and that these drs. are trulyh artists. Prayers for continued healing and safe travels
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Just popping in quickly to say YAY for oily cysts!!!
So glad everything is doing well. Thank you so much for asking about me. I totally spaced that I hadn't updated. Tre leaves for school the end of the month and his program is at a CC, so there is no housing, so I have been obsessed trying to find the perfect place for him to live. We go back to Spokane tomorrow to look at several. So nervewracking to send your baby off to the big bad world all alone. UGH.
CT showed no change in adrenal mass at all...YAY! So follow up in a year. My blood work was perfect. Thyroid has the nodules, but TSH was fine, so I will follow up with another US sometime in the future, I'm not sure if I will go a year or 6 months. So YAY again! Now just one more test on the 30th. The dreaded colonoscopy. The joys of being a genetic mutant...LOL! I am sure all will be fine with it too. I feel pretty darn blessed!!
Hope everyone is having an amazing, loving an joyous holiday season thus far!!
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I'm still reeling in everyone's great news as well as my own clean/clear stuff yest-Monday am is blood and heme-onc that should be fine as well.
YAY Trishia! More good news! Your baby off to college....wow! how bittersweet!
4boymom-congrats- glad you're happy....you should hang fleur de lis ornaments! LOL. take some pictures on sunday? we want to see all of you beauties!
Insomnia-Sooo much to do today -but it's all good!
Have a great saturday lovelies!
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Fourboymom, So glad you are doing so great. Gives me hope as I am packing and heading to Nashville today. My daughter and I will be flying out tomorrow morning. I am next !!! Yahoooooo!!!
I can't wait to see everyone on Sunday evening.
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Fourboymom, you are so sweet. Those "rosy cheeks" are you making me blush! If you posted 24 hours ago, I suppose that means you're done by now? I hope all has gone well and continues to go well.
Fourboymom and Laurie both came by to see me. That was really lovely! Thank you so much!
I'm afraid I haven't been as good about being social. I've spent a lot of time on phone and the computer doing travel arrangements. My husband and I have had to arrange this complicated multi-point family trip in order for him to get down here as soon as he's done grading finals (he's a college professor). We're sending the kids to his brother and then after I'm released we'll all spend Christmas Eve together before we go home. (And if you're thinking, "why doesn't HE make the travel arrangements?" then you've never lived with a college professor in the middle of finals! I taught for a year once at his university and the finals deadlines about drove me nuts, they're so short.)
And if you're thinking "why didn't they wait until after the holidays?" it's because the tumor wouldn't let us - the beastie was about to break through my skin. Nasty blue bruise was getting larger every week. I am SOOOO grateful to Dr. Sullivan and Dr. Stolier for working me into their schedules on such incredibly short notice.
And I'm very grateful to my friend Deb (we've been friends since age 14) who came with me to see me through the surgery. She knows me really well - she kicks me off the computer and insists that I sleep.
I'm being released to a hotel today - I'll be at the Marriott Residence Inn. I didn't want to do the Hope Lodge because I knew I couldn't be counted on not to eat in my room. ;-) And my lovely mother-in-law saw us making all these travel plans and wrote us a nice check to cover it all, so we get to splurge.
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Oops, I see there was a whole page of posts that I missed!
Fourboymom, so glad you're done and have had a great outcome!
Melinda, good luck and hope all goes well!
And Minnesota, I know you're traveling, too - I'll give you a call when we're both back home. (Minnesota and I live within walking distance of each other - small world!)
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AnneN you are awesome. What a great MIL. Very excited for your wonderful family Christmas plans.
Trishia Yaaaaa for good news.
Melindastn You are going to do great and look great. If it will help you or anyone else on Sunday we can sneak off to the bathroom and I will show you what artists these doctors are. Everyone on this board has helped me so much I would be greatful to pay it forword.
I'm going to go for my first walk soon. My pain level is currently a whopping 1 out of 10. I'm sure that will change a bit but dang this has all been worth it. Prayers to you all safe travel, continued healing and thankfullness for the good test results.
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Hi ladies, we are close to NOLA!! We are in our hotel in Auburn, ALABAMA!!
Amy, we will be in NOLA before dinnertime for sure! I'll ring you in the evening before we walk over to Canal street for dinner. I'm bringing me plus three!
Nordy, you keep going girl! Totally YAY for those oily cysts, AGAIN!!! Whoop!
PJ, yeah, your doc too. well, it hits so many women. Did you all hear that the founder of this web site, BC.org was dx'd too with BC??
Anne, I am glad you are good! Hope we will meet.
Fourboy, glad you are loving the nipples! Here's my thing about the nipples, no matter how small they get, they still show through the clothes a bit, and so I feel whole. I dunno. It's a personal decision to get or not, glad I did! Happy for you! Hope we will meet too.
Bye for now! See some of you tomorrow night for dinner!
Spring
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AnneN So glad you are doing so well.
Fourboymom Can't wait to see your results. I am now in Nashville at my sisters home and will fly out of here in the morning. Hearing how good you are doing is really comforting.
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Nordy- That is Awesome News!!
Trisha- Great to hear your news too- Good Luck on the 30th
AnneN- So glad Dr S was able to fit you in! You sound like you are doing very good.
Sounds Like a Great Get together tomorrow Night!
I Wish I was in NOLA : )
Hope everyone is doing well from this past week.
Good Luck to all the Ladies up this week!
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Spring - Have a great time in NOLA! Please post pics on FB!
Tracee - Welcome to NOLA! I will be doing my stage 2 on Jan 27th. Hope we can meet!
I am almost 8 weeks out from stage 1. I'm feeling much better now the seroma has been aspirated but need to go back tomorrow for an US to make sure it isn't filling again. I'm keeping the DOM on just to keep the area compressed. Also bought a Marena girdle which is a little lighter.
I still don't feel up to working out but have started doing a little walking every day to build up strength again.
Sending lots of healing vibes to all of you that just had surgeries and all the best to those of you just about to. xox.
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Liz,
IF you need a bit more compression on the area that keeps filling up place one of the AB pads the Center sent home with you between the girdle and the seroma...just keep adding them until you get the amount of compression that you need. As your swelling goes down the compression garment becomes "looser" and a bit more compression may help,
Hugs!
Marcia
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Thanks Marcia!
I went out for a walk around the neighborhood today in a smaller size girdle, two AB pads on my butt and my tight workout pants on. I felt like a stuffed sausage! I go for another US tomorrow. We'll see if the sneaky devil is behaving or not
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okay, that mac truck came through my hospital room today. I thought I would be back at the hotel yesterday and here I am staying at the hospital again tonight. Soo bummed cuz I wanted too see all of you.
Melinda He did alot of fat injections, lipo and a full tummy tuck. That's why I'm so achy. As long as I take the pain meds every 4 hours I'm good. And anytime I feel achy I look down my shirt. Worth it! You will do great.
Spring Thanks for the "tips" on nipples showing through shirts. I won't go out in public like that but you can make darn sure I'm walking around my house braless any chance I get (alone of course:)
I'm excited for all of your procedures this week. Prayers for continued healing and peace to you all.
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sorry to miss you Fourboy ... It was Amy, Melinda and me, and all our families at the Palace Cafe tonight. We had a good time. I am so pooped! It was a big day!
Hope you are doing okay...hang in there!!! Sorry to miss you...
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OK wanna see some pics from you gals....Fb or however? Have FUN! Cheers from the insomniac! xoxo, jjd
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Back from NY and son's graduation! I've been so anxious to get back to this thread and see how everyone is doing! Wow, it sounds like there's lots of good news all around!
Nordy - YYYEEESSSS!!!!!!!! (and I said that out loud! Gary will be so glad to hear!)
Holtbolt - hope your bumps turn out equally as harmless - I just know they will!
Jennifer - I love your long entries - isn't that something when we find out someone else we know has gone thru this stuff, too. I feel an immediate additional connection, as we all know it's hard to understand what this is all like, unless you've gone thru it yourself.
(Anne, next time you run for political office, I'll just have to go door-knocking with you, even tho I HATE that!)
Sally - Well, I didn't even have my phone on, let alone its little answering machine - or whatever it's called - on. My son will just have to drag me into the 21st century - I hope he's willing to take the time with me. Everyone, he's going to start at Google in February, in Mountainview. CA. So, he's up on all things computer and Internet, and this time with him home will be very precious and bittersweet - sorry, is it Trish? my memory is so pathetic - I know the feeling very well of seeing our kids out into the world. Wish both my kids were closer, but they WILL be here for Christmas!
FourboyMom - Yay for nipples!!!!! But sorry you weren't able to make it for the get-together. Sounds like a great time many of you had getting to meet! Now I know what it's like to hear about reunions when I'm not there! PPLLBBTTT!!!!
Trishia - so glad everything seems good.
I'm in trouble when a new page has started and I can't look back over what everyone said... Best of luck to all of you and happy holidays!!!!! Melinda, Springtime, Amy - You're up!!!
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Hi Springtime, I just saw your post written on the 18th and see you stayed in Auburn, AL on your way to NOLA. I live about 25 miles from Auburn, which is home to Auburn University's Auburn Tigers: the 2010 SEC Football Champions...hopefully National Champions January 10! War Eagle!
Hope all you girls have a great time in NOLA and all of your surgeries go well. My last trip was in 2006 and it was so much fun getting together with some of the girls I met on the FORCE Board. Reading your posts brings back a lot of great (and painful) memories.
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Fourboymom, you're right, my MIL is awesome.
Minnesota, welcome back, and I may take you up on that doorknocking offer in about a year and a half. I've been told that any candidate who claims to enjoy doorknocking has not done enough doorknocking yet. Bruce and his wife Colleen covered their entire district 3 times - can you imagine?
Everybody else, sorry I missed the party, but thanks for all the good wishes.
I'm feeling better every day, but I sooooooo miss driving. I'm off the narcotics but I still have the pesky drains. Hanging out in a hotel room taking it easy is just not my thing.
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Hello everyone. Glad things are moving along so well for everyone. I am still good but need to whine on occasion to help with the healing process. So let me start, please...I hate this compression garment. I realize hate is a strong word, but trust me, I chose carefully. But here's the thing. I did research -- surprise, surprise. (Hey, I can do what I am suppose to but I have a need to understand why I have to do something I don't want to do. Don't you know I must have been horrible as a kid with the Why. Why Why??!) But I've learned some interesting things. Sorry to bore those who already know but the instructor in me has to share.
Technically, my release instructions say I only have to wear this thing for one week after drains are gone. So, in theory I can take it off, but research tells me the longer I wear it the better the results I achieve. Here's the deal. After lipo there is a void created between the layers of skin which fills with fluid (swelling). The compression from the girdle garment helps the fluid to reabsorb plus it assures better results by helping the layers of skin to "adhere to one another better thereby eliminating sagging or wrinkles".
Research shows that 97% of patients who report less than satisfactory results from lipo did not wear the compression garment as instructed, including delaying putting it back on after showering. Even short periods of time without the garment can have negative results. If you don't wear the garments until all swelling is gone then you can have pockets of fluid that become trapped and make little bulges. Who needs that ? Recommended times for the duration of wearing is from three weeks to three months. As swelling goes down and the garment get loose we should switch to a smaller size to maintain adequate compression.
So now we know why we have to wear it. I guess I will tough it out a while longer. Evidently my swelling hasn't gone down much because I can't tell much difference in the amount of compression I am receiving. And I haven't even tried to put on the smaller size yet. Knowing my luck I will be in this thing for three months. But we have gone too far to get lazy now, right?
I am so looking forward to the day I will be through with all of this. And I know you all know what I mean. I long for the days when the only time my doctor saw me was for my annual check up. Instead, now everyone in the office recognizes my voice on the phone.
Whining now over -- feeling better already...
-- Ann
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Ann, that was a great overview as to why someone should wear a compression garment! I didn't know that. Makes sense though!
Acarr, Auburn area was nice!
Tattoo tomorrow! I hope it's not too bad <<gulp>>. We spent the day in the WWII museum! It was fascinating. The girls explored the French Quarter. We met up for dinner! Good times...
Melinda had her surgery today and Amy tomorrow! That is our last one until January! I hope the docs and everybody are taking some time off...
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