NOLA in September?
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I never slept in a recliner. I used pillows to make my nest! I did find that I needed to use some smaller accent pillows for arm support after the first couple weeks; regular pillow was just too big. I just used some throw pillows from the couch for that.
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So...some excitement for my first day out of the hospital... All started well, cleaned my drains, took off all compression clothes and stepped into shower... I guess I forgot the forewarning to sit for 15 minutes uncompressed before entering shower cause I didn't and within a minute in the shower I was very lightheaded and called my friend in.. And within a minute had fainted... Luckily she caught me... But I awoke laying on the bathroom floor, naked and feeling oh so woozy.
My drains were leaking etc but seemed to have avoided landing on anything important... Long story short, got cleaned up and dressed and went to the center for Laura to check me out... I am ok, but my drains are now producing a lot more... Drain 2 was 7ml from all night and I after just 5 hours got 30ml...
Then lunch at camillia grill in uptown, one of my old haunts and resting at my friend's house now...
I suggested to Laura that the instructions they send home left out the waiting to shower detail,
and I had only been told this verbally over the weekend, while medicated... They said they hear a few stories about passing out, so for those coming up, pay attention.0 -
Betsy, Glad your ok and didn't get hurt when you passed out! That happened to me at the center and they kept me for an extra day. You will drain more as you move around. I hope you feel better soon and and watch yourself
Springtime- put me on for stage 2 with Dr. S Sept.1st
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Yikes Betsy! Glad you are okay. I seem to remember Warrior having a shower issue at SCSH while I was there. I also felt woozy but didn't actually fall out. I wonder also if it is the steam and you're not getting enough oxygen?
Leslie - Will add your date. You will be there the exact same time as NoWords!! YAY!!!
Everyone - I may have missed some dates, No Words sent me a PM to update her surgery and I noted it was not even there! Please PM me if you tell me inside here and I don't see it. Thanks!
OH I booked the Hilton Homewood from Oct 20-25th for our October NOLA Reunion. I can't believe I will be there with no surgery or tattoo procedure looming! Went through the center Website and got their rate, which was MUCH cheaper than any other rate, (AAA, Government even!). Not 100% sure I can go, but at least now I have the hotel booked!
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I think I will be there the next week I think for stage 2...
And what was scary was that I was at hope lodge not scsh, so my poor friend had a minute of pur panic as I laid on the bathroom floor bleeding...
Bleeding has slowed up, thankfully... But am weak today0 -
geez louise or rather betsy- take it slow and easy from here on~!
thank you Jerusha and Paula...just saved me some money, am just going to get pillows...so hard to visualise these things prior
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Rosemary.. I have slept every night in a bed... Spent my days in a recliner, but think any comfortable chair with ability to put my feet up would be fine. I have used just two pillows under arms to keep from rolling but may add one under knees.
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Amy... I was at the center today after I fell, and they gave me your card. Thank you so much!
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Oh, Betsy, you are very welcome! I saw it and thought it was a hoot! I'm glad you got it! You have really had a time of it. Ok, so how about clear sailing from here on out???!!
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I am in for clear sailing... The lung thing was a bump but was at the hospital which was very reassuring... The fainting was a bigger bump... I am sure we all go thru something... I hope I am done with bumps.
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Hello everyone,
I've healed and gotten back in the swing of a busy life.
Betsy, I hope you are done with bumps also.
I am way behind on posting. Sorry.
Sandy - glad your son will be ok.
Kathryn - I hope you are done with bumps also.
I hope all are doing well who i shared time with in SCSH in May.
Amy - You being there for your friend is something she will never forget you will never know what it means. I speak from experience because my friend came with me to New Orleans and stayed 3 weeks with me until I had recovered enough.
I forget who it was that asked about supplements. I went to my naturopathic doctor and took some supplements to prepare my body before and after surgery. I have one more week left of physical therapy which has helped me so much. My range of motion is normal and I have come a long way. I have learned alot about massage and things to do to break up my scar tissue. Now i am looking for a personal trainer to help me get in better shape to prepare for stage 2 and life after stage 2. I am hoping that will be my last surgery for a long long long time.
My stage 2 is currently set for November 1st. Spring can you add me to the list?
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Betsy - Wow! I'm so glad to hear you are ok! That sounds frightening - thank God for your friend being there too. I guess there is a reason why they require us to have a companion while we are there. I'm glad you are ok.
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Thanks for the awesome info Cider! I'm definitely looking into starting PT now.0
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tigsun (Theresa) .. I plan to have my stage 2 that week also... Will schedule it tomorrow.
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Betsy-What a day! Thankfully, you had a soft landing. I'm going to be at the Center tomorrow for preop stuff starting at 9:30am. I'll be there most of the day because I leave the Center at 2pm to go to Dr. LaGarde's office in Covington for a preop consultation. I'll PM you some contact info now. I hope that you wake up feeling better.
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Tigsun -- Am with you on the "after" life! So ready to have the entire process over and done. Still some steps to go, but I can manage that! There is light at the end of the tunnel and I also am looking forward to re-creating the physical me!
Betsy -- Wow! Take care and go slow! I think, after my open heart surgery and I did a keel-over onto the floor my first day out of bed that I was more embarassed that hurt (fortunately!). My 'designer' hospital gown had flipped up over my hips and as I was being rescued, there I was exposed for all to see!
Cider -- My sister is a PYA specializing in lymphadema relief -- she teaches and trains all over the northeast. She was there when I got home from my mastectomy and made sure that I had, in addition to what the hospital had provided (they are a 100 mi RT by car, so daily PT visits just weren't in the cards!), HER prescribed routines and she wrote'em down, made sure I was executing them properly and contacted me daily after she went home to make sure I was following them! She knows me too well! I gained full mobility and range of motion and have little to no scar tissue build-up. AND, no lymphedema!
Anxiously awaiting my packet so I can book a flight! Have family living just outside NO, so once released from hospital, will stay there to recoup. Am determined that I will do well and I think that one's mind and thoughts do much to assist -- though they certainly aren't totally effective when the body rebels!
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Theresa, I added your Nov 1 Stage 2 to the list.
Betsy, let me know if you get a date too and I will add.
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For those of you dealing with tight abdomens, I've been draping myself backwards over a big exercise ball and that is helping. I probably have more scar tissue than most because I had so many revisions, and I'm mainly feeling it above my waist. Make sure you are fully healed first though! It helps with the chest too, if you raise your arms and allow them to fall backward as well. Years ago, a massage therapist told me that women who've had breast cancer surgery tend to hunch forward in a subconscious attempt to protect the chest area, and we get really tight in that region, affecting posture. Something to be aware of...
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just got MRI results and chemo has shrunk primary tumor to 1x1.1cm( previously 2 x 2.4) and small satellite tumor no longer seen at all...no other masses, no enlarged nodes...so chemo does work folks...
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and am wondering...how does diep flap differ from having a tummy tuck r? am thinking not one and the same..i mean apart from the obvious difference of intention..., but am wondering since it takes so long for swelling etc to go down after diep flap, is this what happens with a normal straight tummy tuck( ie for no other purpose) ????
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good advice about the exercise ball Sandy! I'm coming up on 3 months since my stage 1 and I've still be going to PT religiously--starting at week 4 and it's definitely helped a lot. One thing my PT suggested for tight abs (mine are lower as well, near the incision) is laying on a table or a high bed and holding one leg in with your knee bent close the chest with your tail bone tucked under. Then letting the other leg dangle down towards the floor--ideally that foot should be off the floor and the leg totally relaxed (you need a tall bed if you are tall like me!) but it helps a lot. It's just another level of stretch that you can't achieve if your feet are on the floor. I do those every day and they help a lot. I also got a cream that helps too, I'm in CA so it's legal but it's a scar cream with cannabis in it that acts as a topical pain killer/anti-inflammatory--helps so much on my ab scar, love that cream!
I'm about 2.5 weeks away from my stage 2 and my hysterectomy--starting to get very nervous and excited at the time same, a total "hurry up and wait" situation. Really hoping things go smoothly. My cousin just had her ooph after years of clear screenings, she wanted her ovaries out cause she's also BRCA1+--it was supposed to be preventative but when they opened her up they found stage 3 ovarian cancer! She's doing okay, staring treatment and thankful she caught it now and not at stage 4, but this is very scary and has sent my family back into a tailspin over all this...just when things started to calm down....can't wait for stage 2 to be over and hopefully get back to normal!
Hoping things are going well for you all -
Betsy - wow that is a lot of bumps! hopefully you've had your share (or more than!) already and it's smooth sailing from here...
Great news about your tumor shrinking Rosemary!
excited for all of us heading into stage 2 soon...hoping your stage 2 recovery is going better Kathryn!
- Dana
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I am going to try with the ball also. I have one.
Dana you have me curious about your cream. It probably isn't legal in my state. I have been using kelo-cote. Sorry to hear about your cousin. It is so hard to detect ovarian cancer!
I am not looking forward to stage 2. I am just getting back to normal from stage 1.
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@louis13 -- GREAT news on the tumor shrinking. Yes, chemo, tough as it is, DOES work. My daughter had triple neg, Stage 2, neoadjuvant chemo. Doctors had told her to prepare for a mastectomy ... but after chemo, tumor so small they couldn't detect it so they were good with lumpectomy and rads. She's doing really well.
As to tummy tuck, had one of those, not DIEP, but I can say it is the MOST painful recovery I have ever had! Couldn't stand upright for at least a month, stayed on pain meds for a loooong time, and now know the TRUE meaning of "core" -- no way you can move that doesn't involve the core muscles and things hurt like hell (sorry ... but, WORD!). Glad I did it afterwards, but during the first two weeks kept asking myself "What WERE you thinking?" Scar is very low, just above the pubic area and goes hip to hip. Belly button had to be relocated. But, I can say, as an active 63-yr old, I don't look 5 mos pregnant any more (no amount of sit-ups nor weight loss helped -- genes!), my belly isn't sitting in my lap and I feel better. OTOH, if I had known I would have a breast lopped off, certainly would have waitied. That old 20/20 hindsight! LOL!
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Today was much much better and did not start the day by passing out...lol...
Went out today and walked a lot, about Audubon park, and magazine street shops and ate at one of my old haunts (renamed and revamped) from my college days... Then saw dr d at 3 pm... Even had a drain pulled.
I asked about the difference between diep and tummy tuck, and there really is no difference.. Dr d feels for me, he would try just sucking fat (lipo) and not do a tuck... He said some people are clear cut would benefit kind of people and I am NOT one of those people... So more incentive to drop a few pounds between now and November... No date yet Beverly... I need them to call me for that.
Rosemary... All good news
Toomuch ... Oh so Covington was to meet with dr lagarde... I was wondering.
Celtic...that doesn't sound good, after open heart surgery...ouch0 -
Betsy, glad you had a good day and minus one drain!
Deno, cream with cannibals??? (LOL!!) I have a really high bed and am going to try that bed stretch you said. Sounds easy and effective. Our exercise ball got popped, so that's not an option!
Celtic and Louis, chemo works better on some tumors than others. I've heard that typically, Tripple Neg tumors often get a great response to chemo - I had a friend who had a *complete* response with Tripple Neg, it totally dissppeared! She was thinking mastectomy, and they did "lumpectomy" (even though lump was gone??) after chemo anyway, but nothing was left. Often ER/PR tumors don't get the same bang from chemo. (But then there is tamoxifen and AIs) I was told you can hope for about half shrinkage typically, so if you got more than that, it's really good!
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Denouement-Your family has had a lot to deal with in a short time. Thankfully, your cousin was being proactive to reduce her risks. I hope that she finds the chemo tolerable.
I had my preop appointments this morning. Then I took the street car uptown and took a long walk looking at the beautiful houses. Then I wandered over to Magazine St and all the cute shops. My husband and I had an early dinner and walked the French Quarter tonight.We're being picked up at 5:45am so I'm going to try to get to sleep early. I'm not feeling really nervous but still a little anxious!
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Thinking of you, Toomuch. When you read this you'll be done and contemplating an icee! Yay! It'll be a good day
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Thinking about you today Toomuch!!
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WTG, Toomuch! Sending healing thoughts! Be good to yourself ...
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best of luck today toomuch! Can't wait to hear from you from the "other side"!
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