NOLA in September?
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Ladies,
For those of you sending your "story" about breast density (THANK YOU!!), please also send a copy to JoAnn Pushkin at: dense-ny@optonline.net She is going to the hearing and wants to print out all the letters and have copies herself. Just tell her you heard about it on bc.org when you send it. I told her I was posting here.
If anybody wants to see my letter, look on my Facebook page. There should be a link to it. I found it quite cathartic to document. If we're not friends on FB, my real name is Beverly Mitchell Lovelace and you can look me up. Thx!!
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kaitsmom- I've been on 2 antibiotics twice a day since April. I take them at the same time right after a meal. I also eat a Greek yogurt everyday and take a probiotic. I haven't had any problem with diarrhea.I suppose it depends on what you are on. I'm on Bactrim DS and Clarithromycin (Biaxin).
I'm a Charleston girl, just popped in.
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I am now post Stage 2!!!!
I am so excited to be done! I askd not have the Verseuntil I was in the OR so i could check it out. The nurses were wonderful and one basically pushed me around the room in the bed so I could see everything! I have never seen an OR before and it was very cool. Dr D has bought huge speakers for each OR so ha can pay his hard metal rock on it while performing surgery! He usually listens to Alice in Chains - his favorite.
Surgery went well. I have all my incisions back again as he opened them all up and 2 drains. He did promise that the drains will come out tomorrow. I had lipo all over my trunk (or so iit seems) and am in much more pain (at this point) than the DIEP. I know it will pass quicker this time but I am using my push button liberally. As an added benefit I have ugly unsightly scar on my shin from a really bad mosquito bite gone bad. I have asked my dermatologist several times over the years to remove it and he refused because it would leave an even bigger scar. Well Dr D did it no problem! A great side benefit! It should be a little straight line when it heals! It could even be seen with capri's and skirts so I'm really glad it is gone!
I stopped in and saw "Lisa" from these boards (from her DIEP on the 13th) after my pre- op this morning and she looked fabulous she has had a few issues but they discharged her to the hotel today so they must have been able to take care of them. Hang in there Lisa it is just going to be better and better each day!0 -
Great report Laura! I love reading about all the details. I want to see the OR next time, too. What a nice bonus to have the shin scar cleaned up.
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jacee - Thanks for popping in! I appreciate it! I cannot believe you have been on antibiotics for that long! Dare I ask why?( I don't want to be rude). I was almost a Charleston girl as well. I think we NOLA and Charleston girls must be the most fortunate of all the breast reconstruction patients!
Laura - Yay!!! Good to see you on here! Glad it went well and you are done! I love the vision I have in my head of you being pushed around in the bed, Alice in Chains playing in the background! Seriously, though, you have answered one of my burning questions which I had planned to ask Dr D in December - what kind of music he listens to as he operates. Alice in Chains would not have been on my guessing list! That is cracking me up!! Glad you got that extra scar taken care of as well. He is a good doc to do all these little things for us. Feel better fast, and push that pain med button!!
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SurfaGirl - I had delayed stacked DIEP and was also very tight in my abdomen - walking around bent over for a long time - and hard to lift my arms over my head. I never even thought of PT. But just doing stuff like hanging clothes on the higher closet pole and slinging the towel over the shower curtain pole eventually got me back my range of motion. And no one really needs to have plication, it's just something that's offered to those who might benefit from it and want it.
Re: Exercise and drain output - Dr. T. told me that exercise will increase output, but it just gets it out faster than if you don't do much. It doesn't increase the total amount your body will put out. So sitting quietly might slow your output for that day, but there is fluid in there that will come out sooner or later.
Rogam, Tigsun, and Djfrro - u guys should have Spring post your pre-op appts. We've done that when there were a bunch of us there at once. Sometimes we can meet up while waiting for appts, or run over to the hospital for a quick visit. Also, if you post your screen name by your hospital room door, that really helps a lot!
Congrats, JustLAura!!!!!!!
Good luck, Toomuch, coming up!!!!
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Laura - Your post is so upbeat. I'm glad that everything went well and that you enjoyed your OR tour! I hope that we can meet up on Wednesday.
I'm racing around trying to get everything in order for a week away. Just when I think that I have everything set, my son's schedule changes! I'm hoping that I can take care of everything on this trip but I'm not sure about nipples.I haven't asked anyone if it's possible but Vicky seemed to indicate that I'd need to come back to NOLA to have them done. I would so like to be done with surgery but I really want nipples. Oh well, one stage at a time.
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Spring... I will try and get letters out Tuesday or Wed. I have dense breasts...annual mammogram times ten years..no problems found-all clear....I found changes year eleven...nothing showed on any mammograms...Oncologist said it was there at least 10 years. Digital ultra sound showed it 2.5 cm...MRI showed it 8 cm....surgery removed 10.5. Stage 3 extranodal extension 7 of 22 nodes...chemo did nothing...I really thought I was proactive...self exams, annual Dr. exams, annual mammograms...lulled into false sense of security...no family history of any cancer...breast fed two kids...had first one before 30 and blah blah blah!
This is an important issue....
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Minnesota-thank you so much for sharing your experience. I don't feel like I'm abnormal now. I started using my right arm today like you said because I am almost 5 weeks post op and I know I should be using it a little more. Just taking it easy, combing my hair, opening the cabinet, etc. My tummy looks kind of weird now with the belly button and fat surrounding above the belly button; hard to explain.
Just Laura-congratulations! Great to hear you upbeat and ready to go. Can I ask what incisions they open up again? Is it the abdominal?
I'm really clueless how they do the lipo. I guess I'll need to do some homework. How much fat can they take out from one area that they lipo?
Springtime: I'm scheduled for Stage II on January 5 with Dr. S. I hesitated to share the info. because I'm hoping I feel a lot better by then. But, I did it. I called the Center because I am encouraged by everyone and amazed that each person can schedule their Stage II right after Stage I. Thank you ladies!
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surfagirl -I believe Dr D opened all my incision (both breast and ab) since that was his plan at pre-op. I haven't seen them though as I'm still in thec DOM they put me in after surgery. I should see today. He also did some work on the area between breasts and incisions - this area has been very firm and very uncomfortable - I told DrD if I had to choose only one thing for him to fix it would be that area- I wantted done that badly. He did tell me to do a lot trunk rotations when exercising as that will help get rid of the extreme firmness - of course he also said he would do what he could. I can tell he did a lot of lipo there. It is very sore - but so worth it!
Kaitsmom- You all should have seen the nurses eyes when by husband asked what music is played in the OR. They all got very animated and all said " you have to guess". His sister was my nurse againand she confirmed -hard metal rock. We never guessed correctly. Funny uh?
I was also the only afternoon surgery (there was one earlier in day) so I had all the nurses to myself and we had to wait an hour and a half (doc was late) so we talked a lot. All three of the Dellacroce family (Julie the OR nurse, frank the plastic surgeon, and their brother the opthamalogist) are all married to their original spouses and all have 3 kids! Sounds like a great family.
They do the lipo by putting a cannula (I believe there are different size canulas for diff areas) and vacuum out the fat. I will have a small incision at each site where he did lipo. He used some the fat for revisions but the rest was discarded.0 -
Too much - I really do hope we can meet up also. We can touch base on Wed after you lnd. I also the major prep and tried to make sure I got everything done - but several things have changed that are out of hands. You will get it done and on that plane soon!
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Springtime - please put me on the list for Dec 16 - Stage 2 with Dr. D. at NOLA.
I was thinking about asking for an appointment at NOLA before stage 2 so that I know what the plan is and in my case what the choices are for the stage 2 revisions. I know I am anxious because of all the problems I had with my previous DIEP (done elsewhere). I ended up bouncing througt so many revisions and had some big issues with pain control. It was a very stressful time and I was worn down by the process. My experience at NOLA so far has been 180 degrees different. But I think for me, because of my previous experience, knowing in advance what to expect would make things less stressful. I was wondering if anyone else considered setting something like that up?
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Besa - I think most everyone does have a pre-op stage 2, definitely!
Just Laura - How cool is our surgeon, that he listens to heavy metal while operating!!!!
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I thought that the preop appointment is usually is scheduled the day before Stage 2 surgery. If it is posible I was thinking about poping in and seeing them maybe a month before the Stage 2 date. That way when I fly down for Stage 2 I will know what to expect and will have had more time to think about what I want done. I would have had more time to decide. For me coming in early seemed like a less stressful scenario. I was wondering if anyone else opted fror this?
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Besa,
I think if you can swing that, you should just do it. It's true that there are a lot of possibilities you can consider for stage 2, and having to decide it all in one night can be a bit stressful. For me, it was deciding about plication. For my first breast recon, I knew nothing about this option, so hadn't even considered it. And I didn't have these boards to come to. So I kind of obsessed about it all the rest of that day - looking at other women with really flat stomachs and then weighing that against knowing I would have a longer and more difficult recovery (as Dr. D did not present it as an easy road), and the recovery from stage 1 was grueling enough... So I generated a list of at least ten questions - a whole page worth - and ran thru the list the next morning before surgery with the doc and then made my decision right then (tho I knew I was leaning one way already - the flat stomach thing). If you could have that all out of the way ahead of time, I do think it would help. I've wondered if they should give you a list of possibilities after stage 1 for you to think about. But then I guess that would be info overload. Not everyone needs to know about every possible thing, as not everything will pertain to them. Plus, it would get us thinking about stuff we'd probably never entertain otherwise. So the best of both worlds would probably be doing what you're considering. Just give yourself enough healing time so whatever you decide is still valid by the time you get there for surgery. That said, I say go for it!
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Surfa, I added your Jan date.
Besa, I added your mid Dec date.
I tell you THERE IS GOING TO BE A PARTY in NOLA mid December!! There are so many of you there at the same time! I hope you feel well enough to meet up either before of after. Stage 2's !! Go girls!!
Here are the surgeries this week! Just Laura is already done and posting above!
Oct 17 - JustLaura - Stage 2, Dr. D., NOLA.
Good luck Thursday, TooMuch!Oct 20 - TooMuch - Stage 2 with Dr. S, SCSH, NOLA.
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Besa, another option is to send in photos. You could call the Center and tell them your concerns about wanting some prep ahead of time. I think they can get a good idea from photos.
Surfagirl, I think there are a few avenues to find a PT. I found out about mine because my mom goes to the same pain doc; the Dr is a BC survivor and has written a chapter about post mastectomy pain. My PT (who the doc sent me to) said a local top recon PS practice sends their patients there. My local Cancer Support Community had a little presentation from a women's health PT practice. My BC treatment's practice has a PT practice in the same building.
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Sprintime,
Thanks you so much for adding my name to the list!
Minnesots and cider8, Your feedback is very helpful. I'll try to make an appointment with the Center ahead of time. If that doesn't work out I will send photos. I want to make this next surgery as low stress as possible. For me knowing as much as I can about what my options are and making as many decisions as I can before hand would be a big relief.
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Hey, when we all get together in December, maybe we can borrow some of Dr. D's CDs for background music! Heavy metal!! Let's plan on early December sending around our phone numbers and where we are staying (pm if you do not want to post your #) and sort out a meet-up. The bar at the Monteleone looks nice . . .
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dbdaze...I had quite a few things done beside the tattoo. It was like a stage 2b. My breasts were too far apart, so he repostioned the implants, both on the flap breast and the healthy breast and added fat injections to the flap breast taken from my thigh area and he also revised all of my scars. I had my nipple done a year and a half ago when I had my stage 2 there. So, the day after this surgery is when I got my tattoo. I was bandaged up only for one day and basically now I just need to keep it clean and moisturized with giving it as much air exposure as I can. It looks great!
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Ccbaby, do you know if your implants are under your pec musle or not? I'm just curious where they put them when you have flap recon...
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I will post again, but I was pages behind and I don't want to forget...
WOUNDS.., wound care may work and probably does for most, but I would for sure send a picture to the doctor... My wound was so big and bad they flew me back to NOLA...
PROBIOTICS... I asked the nurses in NOLA to get me some because I have had antibiotic induced colitis and not fun... so I took the probiotics for the full time I was on the antibiotics.
DENSE BREASTS... have them too... cancer did not show on mammo, but luckily I FELT it and had an ultrasound... so it was detected early (ish).
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OK, fingers crossed, gang. Got the new, smaller DOMs in the mail today. Exercise tonight, shower and then haul my bod into one. Hoping that it will help in the "juicy" department. I am heading to a conference in Montreal and have two presentations, so I had really wanted the drains out. Now have to figure out how to hide the drain and wear pantyhose over the DOM. Gotta be in "big lady" business suit! May be off list for a bit.
Healing thoughts to all you ladies heading into, having just had and, like me, looking forward to Stage 2!!
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celtic - Good luck with the grown-up clothes! And safe travels!
Betsy - I started the probiotics today - fingers crossed they work. So far I just have an upset stomach from the two antibiotics. No visible improvement in the infection but it's only been a couple of days. Hoping those work as well . . .
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Maggie.. I knew I forgot something... When my hip drains were still producing at 8 weeks, it was suggested I put 3-4 ABD pads (folded) on the hip incisions to create even more compression... That helped I think... I also asked at the 11th hour for a smaller DOM and that helped too... but the pads really helped... I even added a flexee on top of the DOM one night...
Amy.. good luck... it all sucks.
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Amy - I hope that you see some improvement soon. If it appears the same after 72 hours on both antibiotics, you should send the Center updated pics. IMO that's too long for no change! I hope that's not the case.
Celtic - Consider the conference in Montreal your opportunity to wear sexy, stockings and wear them under the DOM. The Dom will hold them in place and you won't have to worry about the crotch. I can only imagine that trying to pull stockings up over the DOM would be nearly impossible without causing a run in the stockings!
I second Betsy's recommendation on adding ABD pads un der the DOM to increase pressure. I gave the DOM up after a month but I did wear double Spanx in an attempt to decrease juiciness. Interestingly, I didn't develop a seroma in the side that I kept in for 9 1/2 weeks even though it was putting out 40cc/day when I pulled it. However, the other side that was down to 17 cc/day for 2 days before pulling developed a seroma. I have about 100cc in there now which I hope Dr. S will drain at my preop tomorrow!
Getting picked up at 5:45am and still not packed!
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I like the idea of making decisions on what needs to be done for Stage II. Although I can't fly up, I think I'll take pictures and send them to the Center to provide some suggestions so that I can make decisions.
Anyone want to comment on plication? Does you stomach get really flat? But, what is the recovery like? Would you recommend it? Is it as hard as Stage I?
Just Laura: I also have an area on the side of my recon breast that is hard as a rock. I hope that can be fixed, can't live with this. Feels like an extremely engorged breast on one area. Did Dr. D explain why trunk rotations are good? How does it work?
Springtime: thank you for posting my surgery date.
Cider 8: thank you for the information. I'll look into breast cancer support groups in my community to find some information.
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Plication. I had it, I would not recommend it unless the doc feels you would have a very much significantly better cosmetic outcome, and you are willing to deal with the recovery. It is almost 2 years out for me and lower tummy (he only did it below navel) is still very very tight. It is a HUGE deal. Not minor. If I had to do it over again, I would not do it. Just sayin!!
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Springtime: Thank you for being so honest and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate you sharing. You are a gem. I always see your photo and you seem so calm and serene next to your horse. It's funny how a small photo can share one's character. My sister in law who is 37 years old had a plication by choice and breast implants. She told me to find out what kind of tummy tuck and suggested plication gives you results. She looks awesome in a bikini but she did indicate she wouldn't do it again. She had 4 children. But if you add BC to this story, I think I've had enough surgeries. I'll lose the weight; I can live with my fat. Not very sightly at this point, hopefully lipo will take care of it. I'm 155 lbs at 5'3.
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I've been having such a hard time and need to whine, whine whine. Went back to work last week, 10 days post Stage 2, and have found it so exhausting -- I come home in tears every evening. I have still been having a terrible time with sleep, have 4 new sore and achey incisions that need to be padded up, and have had thrush for two weeks. Have just switched from the gross swish stuff to pills, but so far still only able to eat white mushy foods and feel like my mouth is on fire. And my torn rotator cuff is still painful and bugging me! I always think I'm going to be all better right away, and was not expecting this...but I am so tired of feeling depleted and crappy... Right now it feels like I will never feel like myself again. OK. Whine over.
Glad it's behind you, JustLaura. Good luck Toomuch.(hope the bag is packed) .0
