NOLA in September?
Comments
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Jane123, I was wondering the same thing about why the transfusions. Scares me a little as I was hoping stage 2 would be relatively easy. I've read that they are sometimes necessary if there is a alot of lipo done in combo with other procedures. So maybe this is why? Ladies when you feel rested and up to it can you explain? I know we are all different and sometimes stuff just happens. Healing hugs.
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Yes, I'm curious about the transfusions too ... and worried! A local lady I know had a lot of bleeding with her lipo and needed a transfusion at Stage 2 also.
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Jane123 - I am here. Been off the boards for awhile but wanted to see how everyone was doing. The IV thing: lots of fluids the night before, ask them to wrap your arms in warm blankets, helps the veins pop up a bit. ALso, I always scratch the bicep of the arm they are going for just to confuse the pain pathways. Do it when they draw blood too. Just a trick I used when I had to get stuck for chemo all the time.
Lesley - the bald spot is anestesia induced alopecia. Rare but happens. I had it too. Grew back just fine. Weird feeling to me to know I had a bald spot. Used the brown eyeshadow on it as mine was in an obvious place.
Fat transfer site - I had a little bruised area about an inch from my nipples but that is where I needed the fat. There is usually a little incision for the lipo cannula and it is closed with a stitch.
I just let Dr. S do what he wanted to me at Stage 2. My body is still changing, scars are still red and am using Kelo-cote daily. I get MRI/CT scans every 3 months for my other cancer and they note the swelling stil on them. It is strange as I have gained 10 lbs but my body looks thinner.
Fun stuff - I am going to be a bra model for a fundraiser here in Boise called "Bra's for a Cause". Local artists and celebs decorate bras that survivors model in a fashion show sponsered by our local dillards. Drinks & eats first then a fashion show. Will let you all know how it goes. Will be strutting my NOLA "D"'s!!!!!!!!!!
Peace & strength to all the sista's here in their various stages of this journey.
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Jane123 - I am here. Been off the boards for awhile but wanted to see how everyone was doing. The IV thing: lots of fluids the night before, ask them to wrap your arms in warm blankets, helps the veins pop up a bit. ALso, I always scratch the bicep of the arm they are going for just to confuse the pain pathways. Do it when they draw blood too. Just a trick I used when I had to get stuck for chemo all the time.
Lesley - the bald spot is anestesia induced alopecia. Rare but happens. I had it too. Grew back just fine. Weird feeling to me to know I had a bald spot. Used the brown eyeshadow on it as mine was in an obvious place.
Fat transfer site - I had a little bruised area about an inch from my nipples but that is where I needed the fat. There is usually a little incision for the lipo cannula and it is closed with a stitch.
I just let Dr. S do what he wanted to me at Stage 2. My body is still changing, scars are still red and am using Kelo-cote daily. I get MRI/CT scans every 3 months for my other cancer and they note the swelling stil on them. It is strange as I have gained 10 lbs but my body looks thinner.
Fun stuff - I am going to be a bra model for a fundraiser here in Boise called "Bra's for a Cause". Local artists and celebs decorate bras that survivors model in a fashion show sponsered by our local dillards. Drinks & eats first then a fashion show. Will let you all know how it goes. Will be strutting my NOLA "D"'s!!!!!!!!!!
Peace & strength to all the sista's here in their various stages of this journey.
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Jane123 - I am here. Been off the boards for awhile but wanted to see how everyone was doing. The IV thing: lots of fluids the night before, ask them to wrap your arms in warm blankets, helps the veins pop up a bit. ALso, I always scratch the bicep of the arm they are going for just to confuse the pain pathways. Do it when they draw blood too. Just a trick I used when I had to get stuck for chemo all the time.
Lesley - the bald spot is anestesia induced alopecia. Rare but happens. I had it too. Grew back just fine. Weird feeling to me to know I had a bald spot. Used the brown eyeshadow on it as mine was in an obvious place.
Fat transfer site - I had a little bruised area about an inch from my nipples but that is where I needed the fat. There is usually a little incision for the lipo cannula and it is closed with a stitch.
I just let Dr. S do what he wanted to me at Stage 2. My body is still changing, scars are still red and am using Kelo-cote daily. I get MRI/CT scans every 3 months for my other cancer and they note the swelling stil on them. It is strange as I have gained 10 lbs but my body looks thinner.
Fun stuff - I am going to be a bra model for a fundraiser here in Boise called "Bra's for a Cause". Local artists and celebs decorate bras that survivors model in a fashion show sponsered by our local dillards. Drinks & eats first then a fashion show. Will let you all know how it goes. Will be strutting my NOLA "D"'s!!!!!!!!!!
Peace & strength to all the sista's here in their various stages of this journey.
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Jane123 - I am here. Been off the boards for awhile but wanted to see how everyone was doing. The IV thing: lots of fluids the night before, ask them to wrap your arms in warm blankets, helps the veins pop up a bit. ALso, I always scratch the bicep of the arm they are going for just to confuse the pain pathways. Do it when they draw blood too. Just a trick I used when I had to get stuck for chemo all the time.
Lesley - the bald spot is anestesia induced alopecia. Rare but happens. I had it too. Grew back just fine. Weird feeling to me to know I had a bald spot. Used the brown eyeshadow on it as mine was in an obvious place.
Fat transfer site - I had a little bruised area about an inch from my nipples but that is where I needed the fat. There is usually a little incision for the lipo cannula and it is closed with a stitch.
I just let Dr. S do what he wanted to me at Stage 2. My body is still changing, scars are still red and am using Kelo-cote daily. I get MRI/CT scans every 3 months for my other cancer and they note the swelling stil on them. It is strange as I have gained 10 lbs but my body looks thinner.
Fun stuff - I am going to be a bra model for a fundraiser here in Boise called "Bra's for a Cause". Local artists and celebs decorate bras that survivors model in a fashion show sponsered by our local dillards. Drinks & eats first then a fashion show. Will let you all know how it goes. Will be strutting my NOLA "D"'s!!!!!!!!!!
Peace & strength to all the sista's here in their various stages of this journey.
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Jane123 - I am here. Been off the boards for awhile but wanted to see how everyone was doing. The IV thing: lots of fluids the night before, ask them to wrap your arms in warm blankets, helps the veins pop up a bit. ALso, I always scratch the bicep of the arm they are going for just to confuse the pain pathways. Do it when they draw blood too. Just a trick I used when I had to get stuck for chemo all the time.
Lesley - the bald spot is anestesia induced alopecia. Rare but happens. I had it too. Grew back just fine. Weird feeling to me to know I had a bald spot. Used the brown eyeshadow on it as mine was in an obvious place.
Fat transfer site - I had a little bruised area about an inch from my nipples but that is where I needed the fat. There is usually a little incision for the lipo cannula and it is closed with a stitch.
I just let Dr. S do what he wanted to me at Stage 2. My body is still changing, scars are still red and am using Kelo-cote daily. I get MRI/CT scans every 3 months for my other cancer and they note the swelling stil on them. It is strange as I have gained 10 lbs but my body looks thinner.
Fun stuff - I am going to be a bra model for a fundraiser here in Boise called "Bra's for a Cause". Local artists and celebs decorate bras that survivors model in a fashion show sponsered by our local dillards. Drinks & eats first then a fashion show. Will let you all know how it goes. Will be strutting my NOLA "D"'s!!!!!!!!!!
Peace & strength to all the sista's here in their various stages of this journey.
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Jane123 - I am here. Been off the boards for awhile but wanted to see how everyone was doing. The IV thing: lots of fluids the night before, ask them to wrap your arms in warm blankets, helps the veins pop up a bit. ALso, I always scratch the bicep of the arm they are going for just to confuse the pain pathways. Do it when they draw blood too. Just a trick I used when I had to get stuck for chemo all the time.
Lesley - the bald spot is anestesia induced alopecia. Rare but happens. I had it too. Grew back just fine. Weird feeling to me to know I had a bald spot. Used the brown eyeshadow on it as mine was in an obvious place.
Fat transfer site - I had a little bruised area about an inch from my nipples but that is where I needed the fat. There is usually a little incision for the lipo cannula and it is closed with a stitch.
I just let Dr. S do what he wanted to me at Stage 2. My body is still changing, scars are still red and am using Kelo-cote daily. I get MRI/CT scans every 3 months for my other cancer and they note the swelling stil on them. It is strange as I have gained 10 lbs but my body looks thinner.
Fun stuff - I am going to be a bra model for a fundraiser here in Boise called "Bra's for a Cause". Local artists and celebs decorate bras that survivors model in a fashion show sponsered by our local dillards. Drinks & eats first then a fashion show. Will let you all know how it goes. Will be strutting my NOLA "D"'s!!!!!!!!!!
Peace & strength to all the sista's here in their various stages of this journey.
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Thanks, Karen. I will be scratchin'. Plus my husband will be with me this time so that should calm me down a bit. Do you know where the fat goes when it is re-absorbed? You will look fabulous in the fashion show!
Can I bank my own blood? I am six weeks out - is there enough time and how would I get it from ID to NOLA? I do not imagine I could carry it on - Ha! Thanks in advance.
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Karen that is some good info. I will have to remember wraping the arm with something warm to help the veins pop. I got stuck 3 times before I went into the OR, and that 3rd one didn't take well. They decided to wait until I was under to find a good one. I noticed they needed to stick me 2 more times. So 5 sticks, two of them blown. I guess I need to be dramatic! When they were trying to stick me I had them turn off the bed warmer, as I was plenty warm to begin with. It would never occur to me to warm up the arm, and it didn't occur to anyone else.
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Tamara.. You can bank your own blood, but it has to be done within a month of surgery AND costs about $800 per unit to have it sent to NOLA to be waiting for you... and this is not covered by insurance. I looked into this, called the blood banks etc... It was not a reasonable thing for me to do. Plus for me, I was just post chemo and they told me that my blood would have residual chemo in it and that would be bad for me on many levels to get it just after surgery, the biggest issue being compromising my immune system... But even if I hadn't had chemo, spending $1600 to bank my own blood was prohibitive. So that is when I started the search for local NOLA donors. That is free.
And this was not for stage II... it was for my second stage I... and my 3rd surgery in a month. Had I just had the one surgery, odds are I wouldn't have needed the blood, but my body was tired.
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Tamara - I would not worry about the blood thing. Are you taking iron pills? Your stage 2 will be just fine. You aready look great and need very little tweaking. The surgery will be shorter than the last one and your hubbie will be there. Remember lots of the ladies here had chemo and very tired bodies going into these surgeries.
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Hey ladies, I came home last night night and feeling kinda rough. Thry ordered 2 units of blood, but ended needed up only taking one. I was very tired and very nauseous and looked pale so they took some
blood to confirm.
Dr. D was actually bragging to everyone on how good I looked that nurses were coming to my room to see me!! I thought that was awesome!!
Dr. D did aloton me and they ordered me to stay on my pain pills no matter what,
Tray sorry I didnt get to see you again. It was wonderful sitting and taking the other night. I didn't have much time before my friend was picking us up.
I didn't get to meet DsnyDawn though :-( I had such nausea that I barely left my room.
I came out of surgery with 6 drains but thru pulled 1 before I eft. Hoping at least a few more will be gone before I flu home.
Well sending bug gentle hugs to all of you!!!0 -
Hey ladies, I came home last night night and feeling kinda rough. Thry ordered 2 units of blood, but ended needed up only taking one. I was very tired and very nauseous and looked pale so they took some
blood to confirm.
Dr. D was actually bragging to everyone on how good I looked that nurses were coming to my room to see me!! I thought that was awesome!!
Dr. D did aloton me and they ordered me to stay on my pain pills no matter what,
Tray sorry I didnt get to see you again. It was wonderful sitting and taking the other night. I didn't have much time before my friend was picking us up.
I didn't get to meet DsnyDawn though :-( I had such nausea that I barely left my room.
I came out of surgery with 6 drains but thru pulled 1 before I eft. Hoping at least a few more will be gone before I flu home.
Well sending bug gentle hugs to all of you!!!0 -
Anyone know why it seems everything is posting twice these days? It is on all threads...
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I know that when I go to post it takes FOREVER to post, so I hit submit a few times... Mine haven't double posted, but I am sure that is the culprit... ,not sure why it takes so long.
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How soon after stage 1 are you able to make a long car trip. We had planned on going to my daughter's for Christmas.(13 hrs. Away). I would be 4 1/2 weeks out. Just wondering...... We are not planning on it since change in surgery date.
AnnAlive,thanks for PM. It helped. Lots to think about.0 -
I drove myself 3 hours away one month post surgery for my 30 year high school reunion.... I had no problems whatsoever... I think 13 hours won't be an issue.
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Chelle
I cannot wait to hear about all you had done : ). How do you think it looks? Are YOU happy?
I have such mixed emotion about stage 2. Looking forward to finishing but also nervous about drains and recovery again.
I want to thank all of you so much for sharing your experiences and taking away or definitely minimizing the fear of the unknown. Not sure what I would do without you lovely ladies!!
Regards
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Chelle, so happy to hear all went well with Stage 2! I hope you are feeling better and recovering nicely. Must feel great that Dr D is telling everyone how great you look
Ttay & Teddybear - have been thinking of you both and glad to hear your surgeries went well. Hope you are resting comfortably and healing up nicely!
I have a question regarding scheduling Stage 2: My initial instinct was to get Stage 2 beyond me as quickly as possible (Just had Stage 1 bilateral Hip Flaps w/Dr. D on 9/5). I had called Jeanine to schedule stage 2 for December 5 or 7th, pretty much 3 months to the day after Stage 1. Just wondered if anyone has an opinion regarding the amount of time between stages 1 & 2 - did you feel 3 months was enough time to heal betweent the 2 stages? Advice is much appreciated as always!
I am really happy with my results so far - Dr. D was able to make me a bit fuller and "the girls" look much better than they did before, perkier and more shapely. The medical folks who have looked at me since I've gotten home have all been amazed at the results. Still getting used to the "shark bite" but I keep reminding myself it's temporary and having natural-looking breasts that are my own is more than worth it. I was very bloated (almost looked pregnant) for the first couple weeks after the surgery, but I understand that's pretty normal, too and it's definitely going down little by little.
Thanks so much for all of this great information - always love seeing the updates of those who have come through this process and so grateful for all of the incredibly good information here!
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My stage 2 is 3.5 months after my stage 1 because they want to take a little more tissue to clean up a 1mm superficial margin & make sure the cancer is gone. I'm glad that I am going back so soon. My left breast has gotten progressively harder and is very sore,and I want them to deal with it asap. chellehump was having similar issues. My swelling is gone and I'm all healed, so it does not feel too soon physically. Emotional readiness -not so much! It will be good to get this over with!
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My stage 2 is 3.5 months after my stage 1 because they want to take a little more tissue to clean up a 1mm superficial margin & make sure the cancer is gone. I'm glad that I am going back so soon. My left breast has gotten progressively harder and is very sore,and I want them to deal with it asap. chellehump was having similar issues. My swelling is gone and I'm all healed, so it does not feel too soon physically. Emotional readiness -not so much! It will be good to get this over with!
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What are shark bites?? I had Bilateral SGAP and my butt is smooth.
Is this something that happens with DIEP and Hip flaps?
Do shark bites resolve/settle over time, or do they need to be corrected at stage 2?0 -
Sydgrace... I had my stage two 3 months post DIEP, 4 months post GAP... I was anxious to get it done and wanted it in the same calendar year to maximize my coverage... BUT there are down sides to getting it done at 3 months. I continued to heal and now many months post stage II, I have some things that need corrections. So I am going to have another stage II... if you are ok with the possibility that sometime down the road getting tweaked, then go ahead, but do realize you might want more done. To be honest, if I had waited 6 months for stage II, I still would probably need a IIb... things settle after each surgery probably no matter when its done.
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"Shark bites" are the big indentions left after the flaps are taken. I had hip flap reconstruction. I'm surprised that you don't have them after SGAP.
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I am waiting 6months for Stage 2, mainly to let my radiated side heal as it takes longer, and also to receive HBOT to help with rads damage. I am almost 4months postop now and feel emotionally and physically ready. 3 months was a big turning point for me in the way I looked and felt. My recon breast dropped a bit, swelling is gone and it got much softer and no longer hurts. Altho I wish I were doing it sooner, I think that 6months is a good decision for me.
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Good afternoon, Ladies.
Thanks for all the well-wishes. I was released on Saturday, and am now resting at Homewood Suites. I'm trying to make sure I stay on top of my meds, because once you sleep through a dose, it's kind of difficult to take the edge off. I was able to go downstairs to grab some breakfast this morning.
My tummy is really bloated, and my dog ears are huge, with the drains coming out from there. Makes me look wide, kind of bell-shaped. I'm told all that will be removed at stage 2. I had one of those huge hanging tummies, from my 3 c-sections. That's all gone now. I have a total of 4 drains: 1 from lifted left breast; 1 from right diep side; 1 in left and right hip. My tummy is tight, and a little high. Dr. Trahan said he'll lower the scar at stage 2. I was really concerned about the look of the new breast, since I had a lot of stretchmarks, but It doesn't look like the same skin. The scar is typical of a unilateral, radiated breast. I'm not sure what size I am now.
I am so glad I learned about these doctors from you, Ladies.
I'm scheduled for Stage 2 on December 12th.0 -
I remember reading on Dr. D's Ask the Doctor website that he recommended between 4-6 months before stage 2 - but he certainly understood women wanting to get it done sooner. He was just citing his ideal.
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Pinkheart - Another thought about shark bites. I had hip flap reconstruction and had the dents on my butt from where the tissue was removed. Then the shark bite on one side went away and I thought my butt looked pretty normal. It turned out that I was developing a seroma, an accumulation of fluid in the pocket where the flap was removed. It took a number of aspirations and a lot of compression to get rid of it. So just keep an eye on that area in case some fluid accumulates. If you push on the skin and see waves like a waterbed, that is one sign of a seroma. I thought I was accululating fluid and my OB/gyn looked with her ultrasound and coudn't see it, but that was because it was the wrong type of ultrasound. When I went to a breast imaging facility, they could clearly see the fluid with ultrasound, and were able to aspirate it. Seromas aren't a huge deal, but it is better to catch them when small. Of course I have no idea if you have a seroma, but just sharing some info that I wish I had had at the time of my recovery. Wishing you great healing!
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I will be 8 months between stages. Timing was important - my 5 children are now in school and their fall sports will have ended just before my stage 2 date of Nov. 2. Also, I did not want to wear the garments in the summer heat if I could help it nor did I want to miss out on summer activities or miss any more time with my oldest who just headed off to college. The down side is that this has been hanging over my head and now my nerves have started to come back nicely...only to be messed with again. At least I know I eventually got some feeling back in my abdominal area; my lower hips and, of course, nipples are totally numb (= still rubber chickens, Jen!) I had a very difficult time after stage 1. I am amazed that I am at peace with doing this again.
Glad you are doing well, ttay. The drains will seem to be with you forever - but it is really just a blip. You can do it!
Thank you to everybody for their advice and frankness. You have been extremely helpful.
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