NOLA in September?
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Oh my gosh, Tracie! You have been thru so much. I'm so sorry things went so wrong. You must be physically and emotionally exhausted. I can imagine that you would still have plenty of pain from all of that. I don't think you should be trying to manage it with just those painkillers, if it doesn't feel like it's enough. Why put yourself thru any further unnecessary suffering? Being in pain only adds to your stress level and fatigue and misery. Give yourself a break and just take what works. I'm sure, if you need a refill, you can get one. I think I still did have pain a number of weeks out --and I only went thru a fraction of what you did. I think your assessment is right about all the variables that are contributing to your feeling so terrible. Your body obviously needs you to rest and you owe it to yourself to have good pain control so you can do so comfortably. I feel so badly for your having to go thru all this - honestly - I wish I could help you in some way right this minute. (((((((((((((((Tracee)))))))))))))))))))
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Tracie, You really have been through so much. I pray each day will get better for you. It is really important to just take it one day at a time with your recovery. I remember at one point after my stage 1 I decided one hour at a time worked the best for me.lol The pain meds are there to help you and as much as I wanted to not be taking them I still have days where I need them. I find 1/2 does the job without making me feel weird and drugged. You will recover much faster if you are not dealing with pain.
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Oh Tracee!!! Hugs to you!! You have been through the ringer. I can't remember 17 days out, but that sounds pretty early on to me, given all the sites involved. You can experiment with other meds, but if it's not enough, I wouldn't worry. In time your body will heal and you won't need the pain killers. I like what Melinda said, one hour at a time!
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Tracee - so great to hear from you. I was so happy to see your post and know you are on the mend...but OMG, you have been through so much!!! I am so glad that the doctors were there for you every step of the way. And like the others have said, don't try and fight the pain, take themeds. You've been through enough already - why endure more.
I almost feel guilty saying this but I 8 weeks out I'm feeling very much like myself (except I have no feeling in my butt/hips and my breasts feel and look completely different. But my energy level is back up to near normal and I am exercising again, and (sadly) my appetite is back. I can't believe it but I'm actually looking forward to stage 2 (although I'm certain after all you've been through you may never feel that way) and going back to NOLA. I have two more months but I think that will be just about the right amount of time. I am already nitpicking the results and trying to think what I might like changed/improved.
That said, hard as it is to imagine you too will start to feel stronger and gain energy. It may take awhile but know that you are just around the corner from it. I am hoping that warmer weather and the spring will give you some energy too.
xoxo,
Kathryn
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Kathryn - so glad to hear you are feeling well!
Tracee.... wow. You have really had a time of it. I am so glad that they took you back to surgery and found some creative ways to make you another breast. I am keeping my fingers (legs, arms, toes... what ever else may help) crossed that the rest of your recovery goes off without a hitch. Hang in there!!!
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Tracee, it was okay getting my own surgical plans changed. Marga needed to be in NOLA for you. She would have done the same for any of us. My stuff was elective, yours was emergent. I am so thnkful you've come out on the other side and are doing okay.
Here's the biggest piece of encouragement/advice I can give: Be very patient with yourself and your recovery. Your body (and psyche!) has been through an amazing amount of trauma. Rest all you can. Make sure you're not anemic from all the surgeries--you'll be less tired if your blood counts are good. Take baby steps with activity, and expect to take twice as long (or more!) to recover than the average gal.
Complications like you had are the reason we here recommend NOLA and Dr. Massey all the time.
Hang in there, girl!!
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Hi Tracee - I wanted to second what Anne said about your psyche taking a beating along with your body. I have been going to therapy and a cancer support group (at a place that also offers all kinds of free energy sessions too!) and that has helped enormously. I think that even though getting breasts is a healing experience for many of us, it is also an emotional trauma...and your experience has been quite extreme. It's hard to look to just friends and loved ones for ALL of your support (they also have some issues to deal with) and I strongly recommend trying to find some additional support and an outlet elsewhere. I know it's been so helpful to me.
xoxo,
Kathryn
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Oh my gosh Tracee! I am just reading this. Wow, what you have been thru! Take care and love yourself. Powerful healing prayers your way.
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Just wanted to remind you all, the following surgery is coming up!!
We're thinking of you LCIS Carroll!!!
March 23 - lciscarroll - Stage 2, NOLA.
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Thank you all for your encouraging words of support. Kathryn, I'm so glad to hear you are doing so well. I spoke with Dr. Massey yesterday which was very positive. She changed my pain medication to Vicodin, which is not as strong as the Percocet. I haven't had to take very much, but it has been helping. She also said that they had done the butt lift with the additional hip flaps and diep, so that I had 360 degrees of fresh incision as of 3 weeks ago. I mistakenly thought that the incisions had started at my sides, and my hips were 7 weeks out from my initial gap. I guess through all the anesthesia, etc., I didn't realize what was actually done. I think things have been a little better over the past few days. I appreciate your suggestion for the additional support. I have a therapist as well who has been a great support.
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Tracee, from day to day you may not notice much change, but when you look back to where you were a week ago, you'll see huge improvememnts.
Glad your pain meds are getting straightened out. Hope the gut stays healthy, too, with all you've been through.
Isn't it nice to have those conversations with Marga when you are alert enough to process it all?
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Good luck lciscarroll. I'll definitely be hanging on your every word to hear how it goes! Have a biegnet for all of us.
Kathryn
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I have a stage 2 question for the more experienced women on the board...now that the swelling has gone down a bit and I'm getting a better idea of what my breasts are going to look like, I feel like they don't look as perky as they did before. I had nipple sparing so I think it may have to do with feeling they are a little on the low side. I know that the doctors can move the breast fat around a bit in stage 2, and that the squareness of the bottom of my breasts can be corrected...but how much can they actually do to reshape the breasts? I guess I'm a bit worried that my nipples are going to have to be moved up a little to get the look I want and I'm hoping that's not the case. Maybe I'm just being too picky, but I'm a bit down about how they are looking right now. My dh says I have to wait until after stage 2 before making any final judgements -- I think he's right but I'm trying to manage my expectations.
Thanks for any insight you can offer.
Kathryn
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Kathryn, they can do quite a lot of reshaping in stage 2. I had a stage 2 and then a 2b nearly a year later, and now they are as perfect as can be given I had rads on one side.
What you can do in the mean time, is to take a picture, and email it with your questions, and then request a phone call with someone on staff there. They can talk to you about what can be done, if this will make you feel better, and then you won't have to wait. Or you can wait and talk to Dr. S in your consult appt prior to Stage 2.
Your Hubby is right, things are going to look different after Stage 2. I would always notice things after my surgeries that bothered me. I went back the additional time and am glad I did, to get everything just right. Don't despair!!
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Kathryn~ I had some Square-ness after stage 1 that was taken care of at stage 2 and I did have to have a 2b but I love the way they look
. It was worth the effort as I plan on being around for a LONG time. Has anyone heard from Trishia ???
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Icis - Thinking of you today and tomorrow and hoping all goes without a hitch!
... wishing Bev could adopt me so that I could get a stage 2B... LOL... even though I look pretty darn great, I would like a little volume at the top and outer edge of lefty... Maybe I will try again next year...
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Nordy, Where are those adiption papers!!!??? For my 2b - Dr. D put fat in my upper poles for my and they looked rockin' for a few weeks, but I think most of it is back to the way it was. Maybe a slight difference!!! Oh well. But overall, at 2B they got a lot more symetrical. I don't know if this is an issue for ladies who don't have rads. My rads side was tighter and higher, so he made the other side match it at 2b.
How is Cloud doing? Is he any less "Fresh"??
LCIS!!! Thinking of you!!! You must be in NOLA right now!!!
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Springtime and Jaimieh - thanks for the words of encouragement. I definitely feel a bit better. I think taking pictures and talking to one of the nurses is a good idea. I wish I wasn't obsessing so! I guess I'll have to wait until after stage 2 to see how I feel. Just wondering - how does it work for ins with a stage 2b or even a 2c? I have BCBS so I'm guessing they may not be too accommodating if I need more. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Kathryn
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Kathryn - if you need a surgery past Stage 2, I just called up and said I wanted to schedule "revision surgery" and said the things I needed. The center works it out with your insurance. Sandy is the Queen of revision surgeries! She gave me the confidence to call up and go for it when I felt there were some things I still wanted addressed after Stage 2. I did wait almost a year though, to make sure it was important enough to me to undergo a surgery again! I am glad I did it though. I feel very complete and perfect now! I know it is not always feasible -- Nordy's insurance is not cooperating, but the Center will tell you if it's an issue or not.
Doesn't Sandy have BCBS?? You may be fine if that's the case!!
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My nipples were low after STage 1, so at Stage 2 they were lifted. Then, I needed a revision surgery after that, and I was floored that Dr S noticed one of the nipples was lower than the other (maybe 1 cm, I had not noticed). He was pretty insistent that he lift the low nipple, which of course I agreed to. It was no big deal at all. It is very important to THEM that you look great. If there are concerns, they do want to hear them. Try not to worry, just create a list and let them know what you need. You're in great hands, as you know.
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Kathryn~ I think that most of us are obsessed.
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Kathryn - I had BCBS and they didn't blink at the revision 2B surgery I had EXCEPT they denied liposuction for some reason (after covering it on Stage 1 and Stage 2) .... The Center (Cappy was awesome) had to appeal and fight for me on that one and they finally agreed to cover it. I don't know why they fought so hard not to pay for it since they pay very little anyway.
I have since switched to Cigna. I just have tattoos left and I was told I'm in network now.. go figure. 0 -
Kathryn, I was on BCBS for six of my seven revisions and they paid on all of them. I had quite a battle with them after stage I here in L.A., but never had to make a single phone call to them after heading to NOLA---the gals at the Center took care of it all for me.
Spring, am I really the queen of revisions? There's got to be someone out there somewhere who has had more surgeries than I did! Does that little in-office scar revision count as one too?
I promised myself I'd get more sleep tonight, so I'm heading to bed. Goodnight all, and best wishes to you, lciscarroll !! Hope we hear from you very soon!
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Hello to all
I am behind in my reading here as I was away for 10 days volunteering in Haiti. It was an awesone (though hard) trip, and among other things it made me realize how much being happy with my reconstruction is helping me move beyond BC and back into the full swing of life.
I am pondering the whole stage 2B though. The only thing I am not happy with about my breasts is the size (too big!). I have been always been a D cup still am. I really wanted to experience living with smaller breasts. And strangley I'm a bit asymmetrical from ther lipo and would love to have that evened out. I'm just wondering if these are good enough reasons to have yet another surgery. Spring, I'm thinking that I would do what you did and wait a good long time to make sure.
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Amy, I found that the things were still sort of bothering me months later, and so decided to go back. I am glad I did. Now, when I see myself naked, I say, "damn!!" instead of "dang..."
LCIS Carroll had her surgery today! Thinking of you!!!
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Amy, I can understand your disappointment since I was a D before and after Stage 1, then requested a full B/small C at Stage 2. I had wrongly assumed I'd be smaller than a D after Stage 1, for some reason. I did get the size I wanted at Stage 2, but with the post-surgical swelling it looked like I was still larger. In the end, I am smaller and am really enjoying it. It's a better fit for my frame. Did you tell them you wanted to go smaller? When I told Dr S that, he questioned it a bit, but I was very clear that I really wanted to go smaller. Over time, I'm sure you'll settle with what's best for you.
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(((TRACEE))) thinking of you and hoping that you're healing up both physically and emotionally. You've been through so much in such a short amount of time!
Today is my 'twins' 2nd birthday!!!! YAY for twin boobies!!!
I'm having an FNA biopsy of my thyroid on Tuesday. I see my breast surgeon on Monday for the thigh nodes and nodules in my left breast. This has been a nightmare of doctor office eff ups. I have multinodular goiter of the thyroid. I need to read on the alternative thread about iodine testing. They are being ultracautious with the biopsy due to my genetics. Normally they wouldn't biopsy so soon.
Hope everyone is doing well! I can't wait for October!!!
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((((( Springtime, Jamieh, Holtbolt, Sandy))))
You all made me feel so much better about everything - how I look, insurance, etc. Thank you. Jamieh - you gave me a good laugh too! So happy to know obsessing is the norm
Trishia - hoping for some good news on your biopsy!
LCIS Carroll - hope you're doing well and looking forward to an update.
Tracee - hope you're starting to feel a little bit more like yourself. I know week 6 changed everything, but week 8 was the one where I felt normal again.
Amy - how great you went to Haiti. Did you go with a group?
Sandy - I have a friend here in LA who I had told about my experience with NOLA. Her PS (who doesn't do flaps) referred her to a doctor - Jay Granzow in Torrance. Can you tell me is that the name of the MD who you used - I want to make sure it's not the same one. If you'd prefer, can you PM message me the name? I'm obviously talking up NOLA, but her oncologist is telling her she doesn't need to go so far to have the surgery (we all know differently but I don't want to seem like a crazy zealot - which I probably am!)
Anyone/everyone - the same friend just finished rads (and before that chemo and a unilateral mastectomy) - does anyone know how long do the doctors at NOLA would typically want to wait before reconstruction surgery?
Thanks,
Kathryn0 -
Trisha, good grief, if you had a nickle for every time they poked you with a needle biopsy!! You hang in there. I do the iodine thing (am hypothyroid) in case you have any Q's after you check it all out. I also take dessecrated thyroid hormone!
Happy Bday to the "twin boobies"!!!
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Oh it gets worse. Just got back from my OB/GYN because I'm having spotting after intercouse 6 most post hysterectomy (sorry if TMI). Anyway, I have a huge area of granulated scar tissue that has to be surgically removed. UGH. UGH. UGH. I am SO SO SO SO tired of this. So I will be scheduling surgery number 347 soon. *sighs* Oh, and my LE and arm/hand numbness is so bad right now I cried for an hour last night.
Sorry for the pity party. I'm normally not like this. I am having a moment.
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