NOLA in September?
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Susie419 - that is a very good plan! Four boy also says above Dr. Sullivan took care of hers during stage 2. I think maybe this necrosis could be your ticket to getting a stage 2. I hope so!
Laughlines, a pimple is a nipple!!! LOL!!! Clever girl!!
Fourboy, thanks for the info about massage. I will start rubbing a spot I have !
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Some of you know BreastCancerDiva - she is one of our NOLA sisters. She posted an update on her Blog today and she is doing well!!!
Link below...
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Journey - My advise to you is going to be different from 4boy. I would be extremely careful with the TENS unit. The reason I say this is based on whether or not you have any decreased sensation in the area of your scar lines. TENS is based on sensation and sending electrical impulses along the afferent nerves so that the pain sensation cannot take the same route. IF you have decreased sensation and turn up the TENS unit too high, there is the possibility (probably small, but still present) of electrical burns. Also, if your tissue is thinner in the area that you place the pads - this may also present the same possibility. Have someone else touch (light touch and pressure) you along the area you are looking to use them. Make sure that your sensation is completely intact before proceeding!
4Boy- I had a coworker that used TENS on a patient that had diminished sensation after surgery and thinner tissue - she gave her 3rd degree burns. This is why I say this... I don't mean to contradict, but would definitely err on the side of caution!
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Just wanted to join in and say hello to everyone. I am starting PT this week to work on my scar tissue and possible nerve damaged areas. All of which I acquired during my life with implants. I definitely have some hard lumps in that area. Sure hope it helps. We had spring like weather here in TN yesterday and all I can think of is maybe this year I can throw a shovel again.
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I LOVE coconut oil to massage into my scars. I found it works wonders!
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Laughlines: Very funny little girl you have there! And btw you're in my territory, don't you love the rain! This cold front is killing me!
Nordy: I bathed myself in coconut oil during my stay in Costa Rica last summer. Ya gotta luv that stuff! I do think I might have destroyed a few pieces of clothing due to oil stands though.
Question to those of you who are past Stage 2 -- have your scars faded? Were you faithfully using something to help the process?
Personal Blog: My Quest: Discovering the Dreams that lie inside
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On my scars: New scars - I use Maderma. Older scars - I am using Palmers Massage Cream for Stretch Marks. Donn told me he highly recommended cocoa butter for scars (Palmers). However, I've found this stretch mark massage cream (also cocoa butter) is much thicker and better for my scar lines!
Nordy, where do you get coconut oil that you use for scar massage?
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Spring - I get mine from Whole Foods... but I think you can probably get it anywhere. I also like the Palmer's for Stretch Marks. My main reason is it is one of their only products that does not have parabens in it (if I remember correctly)... and it has collagen in it. I use that on my scars too! It just depends on the week and what I am rotating through! I like to switch things up a lot!
Laughlines! Great to hear from you and sorry about that "nipple" on your face... LOL! I have heard of people having a third nipple you know...
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Nordy I did not consider the decrease in sensation with the TENS unit. Very glad you pointed that out. Also the difference in skin thickness etc. No offense taken here. I would feel really bad if someone got hurt following my advice. Thanks Nordy.
And thanks everyone for the scar cream recommendations.
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Yep - Palmer's for Stretch Marks!
Hi Laughlines!
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Nordy & fourboys - thank you for your input. Your point about decreased sensation is well taken. I had hubby do the touch test with me and I am devoid of feeling below my scar but do have feeling on my scar and one side. So, if I try the Tens unit I will use lowest setting and start there. As stated here in the past I have found that wearing a good compression pantie helps when the discomfort gets too much. TMI Warning!! I think this recent problem came from a little too much of a good thing in bed.
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Journey. You. Are. Hysterical. LOLOLOLOLOL
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Hi Ladies,
Just wanted to pop in and say hello! I loved your little girl's comment laughlines!
Glad to hear you are doing well Bettye- sending hugs your way!
Any more info on reunion in Oct?
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P.S. How do you add picture?
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Journey: what's a little pain when we're talking pleasure in bed! LOL Sounds like it was a good tradeoff!!
Debbie
Personal blog: My Quest: Discovering the dreams that lie within
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What is a "tens unit"?
Minn - you were the one that mentioned Palmer's for Stretch marks. Thank you! I like this one best so far, or all the Palmers things.
Nordy, no parabens would be good too!
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The tens unit can be scripted when there are issues with pain contol, scar tissue, etc. It delivers the equivalent of electic shock therapy sort of-- I found it to be very helpful.
Beverly, I seem to get frustrated because NOLA is so slow--I guess I will just try and be more patient.
Heather
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Hi all! I am sorry to have been MIA but I have been avoiding my computer while I've been recuperating and am now rejoining the world (and stopping the pain meds -- which seem to go hand-in-hand!)
The surgery went great. I had a double mastectomy and hip flaps and my nipples preserved. The surgery was 7 1/2 hours long and was without incident (thank G-d). I was super itchy from the anesthesia but besides that was up and walking the day after the surgery. I can't even begin to say how wonderful everyone on the staff was (but you all know that!) and loved that all of the doctors stopped by within 2 days of surgery (Dr. Stolier and the anesthesiologist spent over an hour chatting with us.) The nurses too were just phenomenal --and I love the nice touch of getting a get well card from all of them after arriving home.
I was also able to visit with Tracee (sp?) after her surgery, but I will let her update you on her experience there.
I did feel it was very hard being away from home and family (my husband had to leave on Monday AM and my sister took over my care until I went home) and felt rather depressed about the whole situation - cancer, reconstruction, etc. But on returning home I feel so much better.
My dh is a pro at cleaning and dressing the incisions and I think I look pretty good. I was wondering how long people who had hip flap surgery (or GAP) kept their drains. I am 2wps (2 weeks post surgery) and still have 60ml of fluid/day...hate the drains and can't wait to get rid of them. Also, about a week and a half post surgery I started having terrible itching all over my body. The nurse didn't know what it was but it seems the pain pills can cause this reaction -- which is why I have now weaned myself off of them.
Also, I was wondering how much of the size of my breasts are from swelling. They look great but feel a bit bodacious at this time.
Anyway, all is great and I so appreciate all of the support from all of you. I am now back
Lastly, it looks like I am scheduled for Stage 2 on May 18th.
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Heather, I used to call, and then email, and call back, and email back. I found I needed to be persistent. Sometimes I would call and say, I've called and emailed and nobody got back to me, and then somebody would. Hope this helps! Thanks for info on the tens unit. I wish I could see one!
Kathryn, some ladies have their hip drains longer than belly ones. I knew a friend who went over 9 weeks with hip drains, but I think that is quite unusual. 6 weeks may not be though? Help from ladies who only had hip drains. I think I would be different since I had 4 flaps! I think your breasts will decrease some, but if they are too big at stage 2, they can fix it up then! Better to have more to work with at this point, than less! ha!
I will add your Stage 2 above.
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Hi Kathryn,
Congratulations! It sounds like things went really well for you.
I had my Hip Drains out at 3 weeks, but most women seem to keep them for 4-6 weeks. Hang in there with them, because there is risk of seroma if they're removed too early.
Also - almost every woman on these boards who's had immediate flaps has expressed surprise at the large size of their boobs initially - it sounds like there is significant swelling after immediate flaps that takes a while to go down. But like Spring said, they can be easily reduced at Stage 2 if you choose.
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Hi Kathryn,
I had hip and belly drains. My belly drains came out pretty quickly which seems to be the norm but my hip drains came out at 6 and 7 weeks when they were putting out just under 30 cc's. Unfortunately I still developed seromas on both butt cheeks even after that length of time but everyone is different. Each one of my seromas was as high as 100 cc's. Go figure! My best advice is to take whatever time needed to get down to 20cc's. FYI - Seromas are an inconvenience more than anything else. I had to get them aspirated once a week until they dried up but they are not painful and in fact I really didn't even know they were there. The reason they have to be drained is so the fluid doesn't put pressure on the incision and opens it up.
Good luck and hope your drains dry up quickly!
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Hi Kathryn, welcome to this side of stage 1! You may find that your new breasts will change and settle down in the next couple of months. Heck, my whole body was swollen for almost a month! Be patient with the drains. I had one for over 6 weeks, and I kept reminding myself not to be too impatient with it. A few extra days of drains beat the pain of having a serum to deal with. How many drains do you have now? I went home with 3 and then was quickly down to the two hip ones. Once you get down to just one hip drain you will find things get much easier. Then you just have to ride that one out so you get the most benefit. Hang I there!!! It does get much better soon!
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LOOKING FOR ADVICE FROM NOLA LADIES:
I AM GOING TO NOLA IN APRIL WITH DR. SULLIVAN TO HOPEFULLY TRY AND ACHIEVE BETTER SYMMETRY AFTER MY LONG RECONSTRUCTION ORDEAL: I HAVE HAD: A DIEP FLAP, A LAT. FLAP, AND THEN AN SGAP FLAP. EVEN AFTER ALL OF THESE I LOOK LIKE CRAP. I HOPE THAT IT ALL WORKS OUT. I AM JUST AFRAID NOW AFTER ALL OF THE TISSUE HARVESTED FROM MY BODY/DONOR SITES THAT THERE MAY BE NOT MUCH ELSE THEY CAN DO. I HAVE NOT REALLY HEARD OF ANYONE OR TALKED TO ANYONE THAT HAS HAD ALL OF THESE SURGERIES AND THEN STARTED OVER. I DID ALL OF THIS BECAUSE I WAS NOT A CANDIDATE FOR IMPLANTS AS MY BODY REJECTS THEM.
I WAS ORIGINALLY SUPPOSED TO GO TO NOLA A YEAR AGO: BUT MY IDENTICAL TWIN SISTER GOT SICK AND THEN SHE DIED. EVERYONE FINDS MY STORY SO SAD--I JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT I CAN FIND HOPE AND BE WHOLE AGAIN. ANY ADVICE FROM ANYONE WOULD BE VERY APPRECIATED.
AT THIS POINT I DONT FEEL LIKE I WILL EVER LOOK LIKE ANY NOLA SUCCESS STORY.
BEST, HEATHER
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Hi Heather. It sounds like you've been through quite an ordeal on many fronts in your life and I hope that Dr. S can help you. As someone who just returned from NOLA and had stage 1, I can tell you that he is a wizard at finding tissue where others say there is none and if anyone can do it -- it is the doctors at The Center. Wishing you much luck and looking forward to hearing how things go.
Kathryn
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Heather
So sorry to hear what you are going through. You have certainly been through a lot. I will say, although my situation is not the same as yours (I only had 1 flap procedure), I had terrible complications post op from my original ps. I have now been through 3 revisions wi Dr D and have at least one more to go but the NOLA docs have been able to do amazing things for me despite a really terrible starting point. My pics are on Timtam if you want to see but it is really remarkable where I am now (and still not done just 3 days post op 3rd revision). Hang in there...-canddsmom0 -
Heather - I think it was Sarahbhealed that had numerous issues with her flaps - she had started elsewhere... I think. If you read back through this thread you will find her information. Do PM her and ask. Also - Sandy had many problems after her stage 1 and she looks great now! Hang in there. Dr. Sullivan is wonderful. He will do his best to put you back together. I am going to PM you again. I have a couple questions!
Kathryn - SO happy to see you here! And really, really glad all went well. I think you probably have quite a bit of swelling - it will go down as the weeks progress.
Hi Laughlines! And everyone!
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Heather, I had DIEP with Dr D and had to go back and he did a LAT on my BC RAD side due to skin issues. I have had stage 1, 1b, and 1c when he did the lat, as well as stage 2, and might have to go back for "2B", but it will not be because Dr D did not do everything he could. Most of my issues were due to bad rad burns from my 1st bout with breast cancer. I am so sorry for you loss of your sister! Though we are not twins, I lost my sister to BC 1 month before my 1st BC surgery, so I know how hard it is to face both at the same time! Have faith in the Docs....and in God and yourself and you will get through. Prayers and happy thoughts coming your way!
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THANKS TO ALL OF YOU LADIES FOR YOUR RESPONSES: SPRINGTIME WAS ALSO A GODSEND TO ME LAST YEAR WHEN I WAS ORIGINALLY SUPPOSED TO GO TO NOLA. THANK YOU BEVERLY FOR THAT.
WELL I AM MOVING FORWARD PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY! IT SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF ME TO HAVE ALREADY HAD THREE PLASTIC SURGEON AND YOU KNOW YOU GO --UNDER THIS ANESTHESIA FOR SO LONG. SO MANY TIMES I WAKE UP AND SAY WTF DID THEY DO TO ME!
ANYWAY, I DO WANT TO BECOME A NOLA SUCCESS STORY. I AM JUST SO BATTERED AND BRUISED FROM THE PAST 1 1/2 YEARS--YOU GET TO THE POINT, AND WONDER IF ANYONE CAN EVER FIX YOU.
I WILL STAY IN TOUCH AND THANK YOU SO MUCH!
LOVE HEATHER
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Thanks for reading all my posts ladies. Does anyone have any feedback on how the limo/transportation works there at NOLA? Did a lot of you rent a car?
Thanks again, heather
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The center (Katie) will set up all the transportation for you. If you're flying in they will pick you up at the airport and take you to the hotel or hope lodge, then pick you up and take you to all appointments/surgery. They are the best!!! If you want to go anywhere other than that you're kind of on your own. Could get a cab, or depending on where you're staying, walk or get on the street car line. I know on my pre-op day, the car picked us up at 9:45 and my appointment wasn't until 4:00. Katie had them drop us off at the French Quarter, so we could do some site seeing all day and rode the street car back to my pre-op.
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