NOLA in September?
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How soon did everyone's surgical glue come off? Next to none has come off on my breasts and about half is remaining on my DIEP incision. Just like to feel like everything is progressing normally.
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Staying an extra day. I just don't feel ready for the hotel scene yet. It really is a struggle to stand upright. The abdomen is so tight. Each day brings a little more I progress but my goodness do I get tired quickly. So Dr stollier was certain that my pmx was poorly done. Said it was malpractice worthy if it had happened within the past ten years. I am thankful I kept my screenings current. What a disappointment that was, but turned out to be helpful for the reconstruction on that side. Dr Massey said there was very little to work with on the right side but she managed to get a boob going on
But it is very fragile. So kudos to Nola for fixing up another hack job.
Harmonysun and Jannelle, thinking of you today. You will do great.0 -
Prayers for harmonysun and janelleg today! They are in right now.
After listening to you guys I will keep my reservations for the Homewood in NO and bring a pillow for the seatbelt.
Dr. M does not provide transportation to Fairway and back. I am hoping to get in from airport to hotel and appointments at the center. Still waiting to hear about this. Insurance doesn't over the center and it will be very expensive for me. Car, hotel, etc.
For the people who have had nausea.....is there anything we newbies can do ahead of time to help with that. Probiotics, etc. I would be glad to do anything to help prevent it if it is possible.
Have a great weekend everybody! I am traveling to Upper Lower Penninsula in Michigan to our 5th wheel. I love camping, reading, beach, birds, etc. Time for some quiet.
Cherrie
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Harmonysun and Jannelle- Warm hugs and healing vibes.
Willy- Enjoy the extra day and take care of that Italian boob, frageelay, (from A Christmas Story). Anyhoo, healing vibes to you too and to all recovering. (c:
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The best thing you can do for nausea is to make it clear to the anesthesiologist that you get nauseated from anesthesia. They have many tools in their toolbox to prevent nausea. And if you can prevent it from happening right after surgery, you're more likely to eat solid food sooner and help prevent it from happening due to the antibiotics and pain pills.
If it does happen... there are anti-nausea medications. They have their own side effects but can provide relief if things get bad.
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Cherrie, enjoy your time "up north". I grew up in Detroit area and miss that. Off topic , but are you following ths Bashara murder case?? I went to HS with Big Bob and spent time talking with him at my last reunion. Omg!
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I saw a cardiologist this morning about my potentially abnormal pre-op EKG. He said it's comparable to previous EKGs, and my heart is fine. He cleared me for surgery. DIEP in 2+ weeks!
Harmonysun & JannelleG -- looking forward to hearing about your day. Praying all goes as smoothly as possible...
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Best wishes to Harmonysun and JanelleG.......healing hugs!
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Great news, Ann!!!
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Hey all you NC women! There seem to be a slew of us here!
DianneNC and I were going to meet up at some point (in July we were aiming). Downey, are you game? BethCW? I wonder if there is a way. And KaitsMom (Amy) is also here (if she's not in England visiting Kate!)
Just a thought... In any case, I am in Raleigh if any of you ever want to meet in person or talk on phone, PM me. I have a very demanding job, but I will try like heck to work it out!
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Cascader, I am not following the case you are talking about. Watching my 16 mo. granddaughter and haven't watched news this week. I will have to look this up. My husband grew up in E Detroit and went to De La Salle.
I talked to Becky at Dr. M office about transportation. Because my insurance does not cover St. Charles I cannot use their agreement to offer transportation. That is any of the NOLA doctors when your insurance only is good at Fairway. I am bummed. On top of hotels, cars, dinners out for hubby when I am in Fairway .....it is very expensive. On top of that he is staying with me at Fairway. A little bummed today when I got this news, however at least I don't have to fight insurance co. for this procedure and I have a great doctors working on me.
Thinking of harmonysun and janelle. Can't wait to hear from them.
Cherrie
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Ann, that is fabulous news!
Spring, Diane, and other NC ladies, I'm a former NC resident too. We lived outside of Charlotte in Cornelius on Lake Norman. NC was beautiful, but it took FOREVER to sell to sell our home there.
I'm one of those that believes that cancer can be stress related and trying to sell that house and losing a ton of money was a big item on my list of stressful stuff over the past five years... Everytime something stressful would happen, I'd tell my husband that he was going to give me cancer from all the stress. How prophetic was that? I mentioned that to two friends and one said that she always tells her husband that he's going to give her a stroke; the other one tells her that he's going to give her a heart attack. Hope these two aren't right, one of us was enough!
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Jenlee, I too am a firm believer of the stress/cancer relationship. It was explained to me that every 7-8 years our bodies regenerate ALL of our cells, so look back at this timeline of your life as to what was happening. So very very true for me. True or not, stress effects us in so many negative ways.
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Springtime, I would love for all of us to get together...we should try and make this happen. I can be very flexible so I would be happy to make it convenient for you and the other gals.
AnnAlive, I went through the same thing with the EKG. I had the stress echo and the cardiologist handed me his card and said call if you ever need me. It's just stressful when you hit all of those road bumps on the way to surgery. In a few weeks you will be on the other side.
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Cherrie... here's another thing to look into... You mentioned your husband eating out while you are in the hospital.. At SCSH the companion eats for free.. so perhaps see if that is true at Fairway also.
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Hi NC ladies! I would definitely be interested in a get together. I work at UNC-CH and live near Burlington but I can be flexible to join in as well.
Beth0 -
Downey -- Thanks for your EKG story. I haven't heard of anyone who had their surgery cancelled due to a EKG that seemed abnormal at first. The cardiologist said the computer analysis flagged mine as problematic, which is why it takes a human to do a proper evaluation.
My pre-op chest x-ray report mentions some small atelectasis in the left lung base and upper lobe. Radiation was on the left side, yet I have no difficulty breathing. Is this something that is likely to get worse over time -- lung damage from from radiation? I hope it isn't an issue for surgery, but my MO received the report and didn't say anything about it. The post-treatment CT scan also pointed out lung changes. Anyone else have this and is it a concern?
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AnnAlive, I too had an abnormal EKG, but was cleared after having an echo stress test. They also discovered a small nonspecific mass on my kidney during preop ultrasound. (tamoxifen related side effect) I was so worried that I would not be able to have my recon surgery. I am now on a 6mth check for that. She also said the more we scan the more we will find, in every single human. So with that I am just trusting my medical team. I waited and planned for a year my recon(2nd try) I was so scared it would be cancelled, so I think i know how you feel. Radiation seems to be the gift that keeps on giving!! I wish you peace as you go forward.
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Ok, I go see the onc on Monday, I had my last chemo treatment on 1/9/2012, and this is my question my pcp asked me if I've done a bone density test and had my heart checked since chemo and I haven't. I haven't been officially been told I'm a ned yet, when does all this happen?
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Hi NC ladies, and all the others as well! Welcome, bethcw! Just a quick note, as I am jet-lagging - just got back from England on Thursday night, Springtime! I too would love a meet-up! My problem is time. I am only here (Raleigh) for a few days from now until mid-August, when things slow down a bit. Yikes! But I would love to try to make it work . . . I had terrible internet when I was in England, so just did a big skim of the last few pages - I'll have reliable internet now so will keep up and look for info re. a meet-up, or Spring, you can FB me.
Also, bethcw, I couldn't agree more with everything that Spring says. Go for the gold! The local docs here might be good, but I don't believe they can compare to what these docs can do. The difference in the length of surgery alone was enough to make me think - let alone all the other things. (These docs work in teams, always, and have much shorter surgery times.) I am also happy to meet up with you if you would like. I have a son who lives in CH and attends UNC-CH, so easy enough for me to come up there.
Wishing rapid and complete recoveries for everyone with recent or upcoming surgery, and continued good health for all my NOLA and BC sisters.
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It's been so nice to be in my own home and bed the last two nights. My surgery was a right uni-lateral so I've been fine sleeping in the "nest of pillows" and getting out of bed on the left side.
My drain out-put is pretty low but that may be because I haven't been walking as much as some of you gals, still struggling with a cane and my driveway is a long gravel drive on the side of a hill, not that conducive to going out for a walk in my shape!
My PCP has refused to do my followup care and has referred me to a local PS who's office I had called almost 2 years ago for a consult, when the receptionist didn't know what a stacked DIEP even was, I had second thoughts and never did go to see her. This will be interesting.
Here's a question for those of you who've had more than one Stage 2 or were unhappy with your size and had another flap added.Dr. Massey said that because I had such a large concavity on my chest that most of the flap went to fill that. I've probably ended up with a large B, small C which at this Stage is somewhat flat (I know the flatness will be addressed later).I was a 34DD, although before I had my son (at age 42) I was a full 34C, so It wouldn't bother me in the least to stay small. Dr. M has said that is certainly an option but I could also consider adding a hip flap or a small implant. I think she knows I wouldn't go for the implant and it scares me to take on the risks of adding the hip flap, it's like a second Stage 1, although I know the pain of the abdominal incision from a DIEP wouldn't be a factor (whew), but the risk of failure is the same.Food for thought: If I'd not been diagnosed with cancer I probably would have had my DD's reduced back to C's.I would love other's thoughts on this dilemma, I'll probably be on the schedule for Sept-Oct, so there's plenty of time.0 -
mstrouble.....it's quite common to have those tests done after chemo as the chemo drugs and radiation can damage bones and heart tissue. Often it is the oncologist's who refer cancer patients for these procedures. So ask about it when you seen your onc. Monday.
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NOLA in October 2012 anyone? I will have waited for 18 months after my masectomy for reconstruction! Staked DIEP, being performed by Dr. Massey on Oct. 23rd. Traveling from Cincinnati as this surgery is not offered in this area.
I can't wait to have the surgery, but not looking forward to the recovery!0 -
Glostagirl, I am a right uni too! Before bc I was a 34C also, had failed expander/implant that took me to a D cup with a small implant on the other side to match. My uni Gap was 3 weeks ago and I was happy to have the implant taken out on the healthy side(too big)and currently think I am now a full B. Hard to tell, as it is early. I was hoping to be a bit larger, but will wait to see what happens at Stage 2. For me, I do not want to have another flap harvested, but that is just me.. But with that's said, I think that you should get the results you want and deserve and what looks best on your body type.
Take your time see how you feel the next few months.0 -
Thank you all for your warm wishes
Surgery went well. Fairway is a wonderful small surgical hospital filled with caring happy staff. The hotel like rooms are individual and very pleasant. A great experience overall.
Dr S stopped by earlier. He is super nice The nurses are marvielng over his work
I am a bit woozie with the pain Meds but feeling great.
I am so glad I came to NOLA. thank you all for your encouragement and support. So far a top notch experience
Oh I got to meet Brenda/ harmonysun yesterday before surgery. It was wonderful to see her. I didn't feel all alone with what was coming up. Meeting her was that little boost I needed0 -
Popping in really quickly, but want to say how fabulous it is to get to meet women from here. Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting Jane123 and Need2new, and I feel so blessed to be part of this network. Spring, it has been a long time since I have thanked you for this thread - so Thank You!
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JannelleG-good to hear from you and that you are dong so well!
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Taderbug... I will be there in October, but at the end of the month.. I will fly in the 26th, so maybe?? If you are having surgery the 23rd, you will still be in the hospital.. I have an appt the 29th.
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Yay, janelle! I'm glad to hear that it went so well & you sound great!
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Yay Janelle. It is so nice to hear from you so soon. I am so happy that your experience at Fairway has been great.
Betsy- They don't serve the spouse at Fairway. However, off the record, if the chef knows someone is there they send a little extra along your way. I think there are restaurants nearby also. My DH is staying with me at Fairway so we are saving in that respect.
Can't wait to hear from Brenda/harmonysun. Healing thoughts go to both of those ladies today.
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