NOLA in September?
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Hi gmp300! There was a woman, screen name -- toomuch, who went through stage 1 surgery at the Center about a month before I did who needed to be aspirated. She talked about it on the boards so, in case she is not following our posts, you can search on her name and read what she wrote. I think it was more of an annoyance than anything else.
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Thanks Besa! As long as things will be fine being aspirated it is kinda nice getting the tube out! I guess the worry about incision opening if it fills with to much fluid so I have to keep an eye on it. Sounds like once a week you have to go in and have it done. Thanks for looking out for me!!
How are you doing? Healing and feeling better I hope with your nice new girls!
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Glostagirl, I brought an iPad last time. You can use it for reading books, listening to music, watching TV or movies, games, email, chat and communicating with all of us here. I also have the NYT crosswords on mine. If I were going to bring one device, it was a good choice. I couldn't choose between music or books. I would have to have both. They have nice speedy internet at the hospital.
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glostagirl, thinking about the same thing. Was going to get an iPad a few weeks ago and still undecided. I like the size of the Kindle fire, but web access is only when you have WIFI access. Cost is about $200. I heard that there's WIFI at St. Charles Hospital...?
Here's a thread that I started asking about iPads. Of course since there's a menu of options, by the time I start adding up what I "might" want and add one year of 3g service that I'd want, it's about $1000, but my laptop is behaving poorly these days anyway. Since you don't want 3g, with less memory you might get it for about half that price. http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/7/topic/787379?page=1#idx_6
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Michelle, hope your preop appts go well. I will be thinking about you tomorrow. I am flying in on Sunday and have my preop appt on Monday. I will stop in and see you. Anxious to hear how Jen is doing.
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I brought an ipad... and yes, they have wifi. You also have a blueray machine in each room, so bring DVDs or blu rays movies.
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Eva, I wish I'd been able to be in NOLA with you. I would have shuffled over every day for Balkan music and NYT crosswords!
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My iPad is the cheapest one - wifi only. I find most places I go these days there's wifi. Except for in the car on the road, say, wifi is fine. Especially considering the expense of 3G. There IS wifi at the hospital and it's nice and speedy.
I have to say I haven't stayed at many hotels lately that did not include wifi in the room rate. I was surprised to hear Spring say she had to pay.
LA, that would have been so much fun! I did get to see Karen when I was there for stage 2. And Caitlin at stage 1. But there's a whole party going on there now it sounds like.
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SCSH not only has wifi they have a super fast connection - I too have a kindle fire and that will be perfect for email, facebook, web, watching tv, music, etc while at the center/hospital in NOLA. If you have amazon prime (or even just sign up for the free month trial) you get tons of free tv/movies to stream. Connection is definitely fast enough to handle it there. Much cheaper than even the cheap iPad. Hotels will tell you in advance who has free wifi. Homewood suites does for sure, also a nice fast connection.
Hope everyone is healing up well - chelle, jenlee, ksue - best of luck next week!
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willy4js5-I also had implant reconstruction before my flap reconstruction. Though my implant experience was uncomplicated (unlike so many others) I HATED them and and thrilled with my DIEP flaps. With the implants I found it really difficult to do anything with my upper body. Also I had numbness in my hands when I held my arms in a bent position (typing, talking on the phone, driving). My local doctors acted like I was crazy to think that this could be caused by the implants, but is went away after they were taken out.
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Wow, so if I have a Kindle Fire, I don't need to take my laptop too?? I'm not very tech savvy & I'm still trying to plunder through my K. Fire! Only thing is skype- my one son is a Marine in Okinawa and my other lives in DC. So nice to be able to see them while talking!!
For those of you who are Dr. Massey/Sullivan patients who had DIEP, how many nights did you spend in the hospital??
Thanks! katiejane
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I don't think you can do skype or face time on a Fire. No camera. You can check Amazon to be sure.
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GMP300 - My hip drain came out early too for the same reason as yours while it was still putting out lots of fluid. I had to have 2 aspirations. For ME, the criteria was if they aspirated more than 250cc they would have to put a drain back in.
My first aspiration was 160cc, the second 120cc. I did not do a third as I was going for stage 2 in 4 weeks at the time. In my hospital the aspiration was done with ultrasound which was quite nice as they could estimate the amount in there. They tried to do the whole IV, sedation etc. in case I need the drain but I refused.
I really felt nothing. They injected they lidocaine and then the needle to drain. I felt relief after since it was outting so much pressure on my nerves. I work at the hospital and just took a long break to do it and went back to work!
My PS tried to hit it but since it was septated (had various "pockets") and there are vessels and nerves back there the US guided one was the way to go.
Hope this helps.
I am 3 weeks post-op stage 2 and went back to work this week and although I am stiff and a little sore am doing fine.
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need2new, Glad you are feeling o.k. after an early return to work. Thanks for posting.
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I went to the library to pick up some books for my "trip". I am assuming I will be able to hold them! On the way back, I was thinking about this crazy BRCA gene and thought you have to pretty a pretty strong woman to carry this mutation. It is definitely not for wimps! Hmmm...it seems we are a strong group of ladies 0
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need2new - Thank you for sharing with me your experience. Now I know what to expect and ask for! So an US guided aspiration is best. I would of took the easy way and just ask them to stick me! Who would of thought there is so much going on back there? Not I! So only needing it done 2 times doesn't sound bad at all. Almost better than the drain in for so long. I'll let you know how it goes. I have one more question
Was your flap really swollen and sore mostly under the armpit and on top? I just want to make sure no infection is brewing!Thans So Much!
Geralyn
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Grrrr....! I had a whole big long post and my hubby called for directions in the middle of it. Poof! It is gone!
Gmp- I had my expanders in for 18 months also! Long story about a pregnancy and a move. When the rads side tried to make its way out through my skin, I thought I would just live flat - and we see how that worked out for me! As for aspiration - I did not lose my drains early - I was just super juicy! I had to be aspirated 1-2 times a week for two weeks, then my local PS put two very small drains back in for 2 weeks, then it was another 1-2 times per week for another two weeks after that. I am NOT the norm - so do not fear! Anyway, my local PS just did it in her office - no lidocaine, no sedation (overkill!) and no US guidance. Having said that, it was pretty easy to see where the fluid was on me, because that area was like a water bed! We discovered that if she put the needle in just above my incision line that It was numb there and so I never needed local anesthetic. The one time she went below my incision line... well, that did not feel so great, so we definitely learned by trial and error! In all, this too is now just a memory, and I made it through it, as have many others! And you will too!
Glostagirl... First I wish I was going to be in NOLA with you! How is your leg? I hope everything is healing well. As for electronics - I love my ipad. I did not get 3g, and like Eva says, really the only place I can't use it for internet stuff is in the car. Most places have wi-fi. If you did not want to buy a ton of memory, you could just load the things that you will be needing onto our ipad for your trip, and mainly store stuff in your home computer...OR ipad comes with some icloud memory (where info is stored on their computer). I have not needed to use it yet, so can not testify to how well that works nor the ease of access. Maybe some tech savvy people will chime in. My BIL has the Fire and he really likes it for reading - but he also has an ipad and I see him using that for all of his internet stuff. He said something about liking the bigger screen... Anyway, wishing you well!
Jen- thinking about you today and hope you are feeling well.
Michelle - I hope all your appointments went well today!0 -
Hey there ladies,
All the appointments went well and I am all marked up
Everyone was so nice and of course it was great to see Dr. D. again.
I stopped in to see Sandy, but didn't know what room Jen was in. Hopefully we will get to see each other walking the halls.This is all so surreal and I can't believe it's just a few hours away.
I didn't look back through all the post, but has anyone heard from Jen?
KSue, I look forward to meeting you. I will send you a private message with my cell phone number.
Hugs to you all & thank you for the support!! This is truly an amazing group!!
Chelle
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Good luck Chelle! Did you pack the camis?
Go out and have a nice dinner and a glass of wine and congratulate yourself on getting this far... the rest is a piece of cake!0 -
Hi Jeskachi, Yep I have them both with me. Thank you for sending those and I have the pajamas from Eva
We are going out somewhere tonight, but I plan to eat light. I do plan to have a sip of my daquiri, but hoping to get some rest tonight. Having fun hanging out with my dear friends who opened their house to me to stay here while I go through all this!!
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Good luck Chelle, be thinking of you tomorrow! I'll be where you are in a few weeks!
Thanks for all the tech advice. I have considered an iPad, but was thinking it might be nice to have something small I could just slip into my pocket. Plus my iPod is old-old-old.
Nordy...it would be so fun to see you in NOLA. I will see you on the other side though, when I can flash you my new boobie!
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I read recently that someone thought that the cost of Stage 2 in NOLA is included in the cost of Stage 1 -- is that true?
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Can anyone tell me how large the drains are... While you're in the hospital, do they help you pin them in your gown or pajamas? Betsy, I know that you said that you put them in a shoulder bag, just wondering how much room to allow, small purse or big tote bag:)
What was it like taking out your own drains at home? Scary?
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Michelle, sending you positive thoughts for tomorrow -- I'll be thinking of you! Hope that you catch up with Jen, I hope that we hear from her soon. Please let us know how you're doing. I have the same dates as KSue and I'm going to PM my contact info to you as well.
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Jenlee, the drains are about the size of a lemon. You squish them flat after emptying them to create suction. They give you a little belt thing with pockets you can slip the drains in. I used that for a while, but eventually found they didn't show so much if I just tucked them into the waistband of the yoga pants I wear all the time. I took out all my own drains solo at home and it went fine every time. I had one that was a little sore, but not enough to be a problem. There's a single stitch you have to snip with a little scissors (they give you that too) and then open the drain so there's no suction and slide it out. It was done in a few seconds.
Best wishes to the Nolettes!
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Hey Jenlee
I got your message and sent you one back. I didn't have Jen's info and ended up running out of time. I did see Sandy and her sister Carol was still in surgery.
Today was the first time I had seen the hospital part and it was beautiful.
Thank you for all the support, well wishes and prayers and I will never turn those away. I believe my mom and dad are watching over as two guardian angels and will guide me through all this.
planning on a light dinner and hoping to get some sleep tonight. I still need to pack my suitcase just for the hospital, but shouldnt be too hard. Do they have a robe we can use? I thought I saw one, but not sure.
Thanks again ladies!!
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Oh KSue, I got your message too and I put both of yours (Jenifer) info into my phone
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Yes, there is a robe for you.
Tamara, I thought you'd want to know, when I got undressed for my shower this morning, it was chilly and my nipples did contract. Not fully, definitely a noticeable amount.
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hi ladies - excuse they typing skills as I'm still a little wobbly with the IVs. Thank you so much for your all comments of support. It's been great checking them throughout the day. I feel so encouraged!
So, I just finished dinner and am sitting in a chair. I did one lap today and think I'll do another before bedtime. I'm still lightheaded and dizzy (from the drugs) but things have vastly improved since this morning.
We did do the DIEP and kept the nipples on both sides. I'm still not entirely at peace with the decision... i think in part because I was thinking all this time that I would get rid of them. Dr. Stolier expressed many times that I could absolutely keep them - but that it's up to me...
Chelle, I'm so bummed we didn't find eachother today! Tomorrow is your surgery, so I'll be sure to find you on your day two. Also Chelle, the worst part for me was a couple of hours after I woke up. I had a bit of an anxiety attack - though mild. I just didn't like how I was feeling - numb and heavy. There are so many tubes and the blood pressure cuffs on your calves that it just added to the weirdness from the anesthesia and pain meds. The nurse offered me a Xanax when I started to cry and expressed feeling claustrophic. I'm only tellling you this so that you know what to (possibly) expect. Take the Xanax - it will absolutely take the edge off. Oh, also! Don't be surprised if the inside of your elbows and armpits are sore. it's just from being positioned during surgery with your arms placed away from you. They'll give you excercises for the arms on the first day of recovery.
I can't believe how much better I feel hour by hour. I'm still a bit scared to stand and walk, still a bit light-headed, but it's way better then it was earlier. I'vv peed twice but no number 2! Bring on the prune juice! I'll give more updates soon. Thanks for all your positive thoughts and prayers!
And Chelle, don't sweat it! When I initially woke up I thought to myself, "Oh, that's right I have to go have that surgery." (Which brought on a moment of dread.) But seconds later I realized, "Wait a minute! I'm done with that surgery!!" - and a HUGE sense of relief washed over me! Chelle, you feel so much better once you're thought the first half day. Here's to a restful night of sleep tonight!!0 -
Wow, contracting nipples. I can't imagine. I'm getting more encouraged and less discouraged about the down time. Great feed back here about restored upper body strength and the ability to lay on my belly again. I think getting rid of these implants is going to prove to be spectacular. Thanks a bunch for sharing. I decided to get a new phone after reading the tech posts here. Had not really thought about that yet and my blackberry is terrible for data usage.
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