One step implant procedure with Alloderm - Anyone?
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So much activity today!
Shoshi, you have an awesome list of all the right questions. I was nowhere near as well informed as you are. I wish I had checked back in just a little later yesterday to be able to answer you when you needed it. The doc will have lots to tell you, and you can finish with the questions he misses. Okiegal and Tracy are right, some of your questions can't be answered yet. You're probably at your appointment right now. Let us know how it went.
Paula, you have been through so much, and now more. I'm glad you're with a top notch cancer center. They're unlikely to miss any possibilities. My PS dreads radiation. But he told me that if I had to have it, the one-step fares very well and is very less likely to have a problem. Tracy is going to prove it to us all.
Tracy, with the boost sessions going on, you must be very near the end of treatments. Even with the lobster red, I'm glad you're feeling better. From what I've heard, you bounce back very quickly after the treatments end.
Ally, That was the biggest surprise for me, the way the muscle flattens the implant. It rounds out somewhat, but the shape is flat at the tip. I would ask your PS about high profile. I bet you'd still be a B.
Okiegal, what's Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Are you OK?
Off to work for me, with pictures of chocolate covered strawberries in my head. Deadline day. Maybe I can share some more photos. Have a good day all you wonderful women.
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Not to worry, I'm fine for now. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is very common. It's an auto-immune disease where your body slowly attacks your thyroid. You eventually end up needing to take thyroid medication. I think I'm supposed to take a wait and see approach with annual TSH screening. My mom has the same thing and her grand mother probably did as well (I'm guessing.) There has been a lot of study about the connection between thyroid issues and breast cancer, but nothing conclusive to date.
Have a great weekend everyone!
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hi ladies...i have a really bad cold & feel like shit..so excuse me for making this short...we r going w/ the 1 step but he will b bringing in the TE just in case. Most of the med questions will have to be directed to BS in Dec. i will have mentor silicone high profile & approx 400 cc but he may do the 500 cc b/c it may be to small b/c of projection even though i want to be smaller. It will b under the muscle & not allowed to do much for 10 days no lifting my arms over my head..gotta start shopping for button down shirts & jammies..LOL drains on his part 2 on each side & for 3- 4 days...hospital stay 1-2 days but depends on how i feel & my bs. i have all notes not near me & i cant get up now..LOL
i wish i could of had someone w/ me, but that was NOT possible..i will have a dear frioend help me out for a while afte rthe surgery & my "dh" but i wont get as much as i want after a few days w/ DH, so i'll have friends ...
thx for everything ladies...i am closing off for now b/c i feel like sh*t.
hugs
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Hi to everybody. I had a wonderful day. The weather was perfect. I got some exercise walking 18 holes of golf. My companions were nice women. No one pushing us from behind. No one holding us up in front. Lunch afterwards. Perfect.
Yesterday I took my mother to have her hair done. Then in the afternoon I took her to an appointment with a behavioral neurologist. That was very interesting. He put my mother through a routine of questions and physical responses and concluded that she is fine mentally for her 86 yrs. No alzheimer's. He also gave her a prescription to take to help her with the nervous sensations she has been experiencing this year. She suffers from restless leg syndrome, and it seems to have extended beyond the legs to other parts of her body. This malady interferes with restful sleep. I doubt this one prescription is a magic bullet but I think we've found a dr. who will work with us toward achieving as much relief as possible.
Meg, the boutique sale sounds like fun. I would definitely drop by if I were in the neighborhood.
Paula, the poor 5th wheel has sat in its building all summer and grown mold. One of my jobs is to go out there soon and do some cleaning. That's after I get around to cleaning the house! I wish a cleaning lady would come and ring my doorbell and ask if I could use her. I would welcome her in with open arms. Dh is already mapping out next summer's rv trip.
Good luck to all of us in various stages of dealing with our bc. I wish everyone the best of luck at each step. A couple of months ago I couldn't imagine feeling as good as I do now and being able to go about life normally. Fortunate1, Okiegal and Meg were my beacons of hope. They were already either recovered or on the road to recovery. Communicating with them helped me a lot to believe things would get much better. I'll always be grateful for their encouragement.
Some of you asked about my fiction writing. I've had 35 romance novels published by Silhouette Books, which is owned by Harlequin, the biggest publisher of romance fiction in the world. All the books were paperback and had limited shelf life. If you Google Carole Halston, you can go to Amazon and see some of the used copies for sale. Carole Halston was my pseudonym. It's not my real name. My writing career was a lot of fun, but also required much discipline. I enjoyed the contact with the New York publishing world and the associations with other writers. But I finished up a contract in 2000 and retired. I keep thinking I should start writing again, some kind of fiction other than romance, but writing is a consuming commitment. It's not something one does casually every now and then.
Hope everyone has a good weekend.
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Hi all.
Succsess with the boutique sale, Meg.
Carole, a romance author. you are one interesting woman!
Shoshi, good job. Hope you feel better soon.
Okiegal, glad to hear its not serious. I have a little nodule on my thyroid noted on the CT/Pet scan that no one is concerned about at all. I'll find out eventually what it is. And RH which is autoimmune. There was a thread a while back that was wondering about possible BC connections among all that stuff. Maybe with all that plus the dense breasts and decades of hormone therapies I had a big ol BC target on my forehead and never knew it.
Liz, all good thoughts headed your way.
My weekend has gotten more complicated. Dad's weekend caregiver was in an auto accident. We have to figure out a help schedule among family members on my busiest weekend. When it rains it pours.... It will work. I'm really worried about the caregiver, it sounds very serious.
Hugs to all, fun weekends, and yes, I'm going to go get em.
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Hi Ladies,
Hope everybody is doing well. Thanks for your encouragement! Finally I have my schedule for Monday -injection at 9am and surgery at 2:30pm. I'd better find something to do during those 5 hours.
Okiegal, I really need to do a lot of things to get ready for the "big day". I did quite some grocery shopping today. Cleaning comes up next.
Fortunate, hope you figure out a way to deal with your busy weekend. Also good luck to the caregiver.
Paula, sorry to hear you have to go through this again. My prayers are with you. Thanks for clarifying the radiation. It makes feel much better that I don't really need it.
Meg, good luck to your sale!
Have a nice weekend!
Liz
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hi ladies..still feeling quite sh**ty..i have bronchistis & probably a sinus infection on top it all. Today my son & i r supposed to go c a dear friend in his magic show that we have been looking forward to for months, now not sure if i can do it & have no one else to help me out!! UGH!! I'm nervous to push it wheni am a month away from surgery....Dec 15th is my date BTW....
so any way i am on pg 3 of 24 of ur posts ....started from the begining ..LOL ..so now that it is a few months later..how do u all feel? Carol how is ur nipple? do u ladies still have pain? how long b4 u went back to work? do u wear a bra? how much do they fall if u dont wear a bra...where do uf ind the barely there bras? Shelly Jo, what kind of masectomy bras did u get thru ur insurance? so now months later ladies is there anything u still have trouble doing?
i also read that there is a pix site on this forum. I know there is one thru EC..is it the same one?
thx ladies!!
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meg, i know ur post abt polys was in Aug & u probably have had it all cleared up. I had them to & b/c of cancer cells i chose to have a vaginal hysterectomy. I can only hope & pray that my BMX goes as smoothly as my hysterectomy did back in June. Wow am i ever so glad i had that surgery!!! i healed real fast & LOVE not having a period & cramps!!! LOL
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New Bride
I had nipple sparring bilateral in March of 2009. I am/was about as high risk as you can get BRCA + with one of the strongest family histories the genetics folks at Memorial Sloan Kettering have ever seen. I had N/S at Memorial; my B/S told me that there was still a risk if I kept my nipples, when I asked what the risk was it was only 1-2%. Since there is not a 100% elimination of risk with skin sparring mast, I felt that I could live with a 1-2% risk, heck coming down from a risk over 89% even 10% would have sounded good.
Both nipple survived, there were no cancer cells near them, my scares were under my breasts so which helps a bit.
Wendy
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HI, Wendy. That's great that your incisions were under your breasts. They must hardly be visible. You're right that there's still some risk with the skin-sparing. My incisions are on the outer side of the breast, but they're shorter than they would have been if the nipples had been removed. My tumor was on the bottom part of the breast, but, thankfully, not close to the chest wall. My BS and PS work together as a team and they do the nipple-sparing with most of their one-step surgery patients if the tumor isn't too close to the nipple. However, if the pathology on the tissue behind the nipple comes back with cancer cells, the nipple is then removed in another surgery. The patient knows that going in.
I didn't know anything about nipple-sparing when I went for my first apptment with my BS. She offered it as a choice if I decided on MX. Interestingly, I was tested for BRCA because of family history and tested negative. So I wrongly thought I had dodged a genetic bullet. My BS knows my family history well because my aunt and cousin, now deceased, were her patients. She is skeptical that there isn't something genetic going on with my developing bc. However, my aunt and cousins were all triple negatives and I am ER/PR+.
In my aunt's branch of the family, even her two sons are BRCA positive. One son has 2 daughters. One of them has been tested and inherited the mutated gene. The other daughter has to be 18 before she can be tested. My aunt's surviving daughter has a daughter who tested positive and underwent prophy BMX/recon and hysterectomy. That's what is recommended for young women to do after they've had their children.
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thanks okiegal for the info.....i'll call ps to ask him about it.....i'm so scared...i hope i can go through with it....nobody has mentioned when they went back to work. i hope i'll be ok in a couple of wks.........ally.......u gals sound like a great bunch...i'm a registered nurse......i'm only used to being the caregiver.
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Hello to all. Wow. Lots going on while I was off working.
Liz, cancer free is the look we're all going for. Know that as you go to surgery our prayers go with you.
Carole and Wendy, thank you for sharing details on nipple sparing. I will be sure to ask about which incisions will be made. It does look like BS#2 found a PS that she likes to work with who will try to accommodate my wishes as to 1step and nipple sparing. At least I feel like I'm closing in on this thing. I meet with PS#2 on Thu. to find out more. Maybe I'll be able to make a decision after that.
Ally, maybe your PS can have a couple of options standing by for you in surgery. It might be worth asking for. I believe Shoshi has arranged for that.
Fortunate1, I hope your sale is going well and all of your works of art go to people who have the good taste/sense to display them prominently.
Well, its time for my walk. I'll be back later
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Ally, the women on bc.org are great about responding to questions and sharing information. Why don't you start a new thread by asking how soon others were able to return to work after BMX/w/immediate recon? Two wks sounds optimistic to me especially if you have to do any lifting, pushing, etc. I wasn't supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 lbs for several wks. Others can chime in and tell you their restrictions. I didn't drive for a couple of wks and wasn't comfortable driving until about week 4 or 5.
Fortunate1 can tell you how soon she was able to resume her work as a potter, which is more physical than many other jobs. Maybe YearoftheHat will check in and tell us how soon she was able to return to her computer job.
Surgery for a medical person is especially frightening since you know so much that can happen. In my case ignorance was helpful. The surgery day finally came and was over. When I regained consciousness I was overwhelmed by euphoria. You can do this.
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Ally, It's difficult letting others care for us, but there is a wonderful side too. I was so grateful with the care I received from loved ones as well as strangers that I was actually joyful! It's nice being on the other side of caring. You get to see how good people can be. Also, eventhough a mastectomy seems like a big surgery and I suppose it is, it isn't a complicated one. Even with with reconstruction it takes about four hours. Most women do absolutely fine. You can do it and you'll be glad you did. Please visit with us regularly, we will help support you as much as possible. Going back to work will depend on a lot of issues. Some women heal very quickly...some of us take a little longer, but it's always best not to rush things. I'm guessing 6-8 weeks? I'll say a prayer for you.
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my ps said yesterday that i cant lift anything for 10 days, cant lift my arms over my head & drive..now these r his instructions, the BS may add more on to it..having 2 dr's can be a BIG pain!!! LOL would love to know how long it was b4 u ladies went to work & were able to drive...
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thanks so much for your replies,,,shoshi,okiegal,carole and new bride......this is the first time i've been able to cry and actually feel sad since diagnosis back in may. i've been in denial and seem to put on a happy, strong face when dealing with my friends, family and coworkers....thanks for the support....i hope you are all doing well......ally from long island, NY diagnosis dcis on the right lcis on the left
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Strange that I haven't shed the first tear through this bc ordeal. At first I was haunted by the shocking realization, "You have cancer." The prospect of surgery was terrifying. I lost my appetite and my imagination went into overdrive conjuring up dire scenarios. But no tears. It's so weird to feel great and be told you have a life-threatening disease. Now I'm feeling great again despite Arimidex-induced heavy-duty menopause so it's hard to imagine recurrence. I guess happiness is all about escape and denial. Hmm. That's some heavy philosophizing on a Sunday morning! Oh, and the appetite came back!
Fortunate1, I'm hoping your weekend has worked out. Meg, I hope your church sale was profitable. Year, I wonder how you are doing and send out positive vibes. Okiegal, are your nipples looking good? Now where else would somebody ask a question like that!!!
Dh and I are playing in the final couples golf tournament of the year at our club. He's fresh out of a 4-day golf school with some intensive instruction. He'd better play well because this partner isn't gong to carry him!
The week coming up is going to be very busy. Then next Mon. we set out on a Thanksgiving road trip to IL. I like dh's relatives but wish we had lived closer to them all these years so that visits would have been a matter of hours instead of days. Visiting gets old quickly for me. On the positive side, I'll be a guest, not the hostess with all the cooking.
Happy Sunday.
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Hello All!
Liz, Paula and Ally welcome!
Liz, Monday is one months since my surgery. I am feeling well and I think you will feel well in a month or even sooner. Good luck, I will be thinking about you on Monday!
Ally, even after augmentation (breast enlargement) you can not lift more than 10 lb for 3 weeks, more than 15 lb for 4 weeks, more than 20 lb for 5 weeks. At my first post-op appt with my PS I was told that their nurse had Mx 3 weeks ago. She was back at work, but she is doing some lazer procedures, probably it is much easier than being the caregiver.
shoshi, I started driving on the 6-th day after the surgery. Remember, you can not drive while you taking pain killer which contains narcotics. I started taking tylenol enstead of vicodin on the 6-th day also. When I woke up after surgery the fist question I was asked was How I can grade my pain from 1 to 10. You can ask for pain medicine every 4-6 hours. I just asked in anvance usually every 5 hours and it worked good for me. I didn' have Q-pump.
Have to go now, hope everyone is doing great!
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thanks for the reply i_am_ok. glad to hear you were driving 6th day post op...did u still have your drains when you were driving?.....i'm also curious to know how all u gals managed when u came home from the hospital....did you need alot of help?........ally
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shoshi...when did u have your surgery? it sounds like it was recently. are you feeling well?...ally
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ally, my date of surgery is not until the 15th of Dec. I have done so much research. I know u want 1 step & so do i ....but ck out the other forums too...u learn a lot..
i do NOT want TE & Exchange...my gosh those poor women so many of them have so much pain during the TE...my heart goes out to each & every 1. i have 2 friends that both had the TE & they were lucky....
welcome aboard Ally
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thanks shoshi....my surg is nov. 20....one step is the way to go for me.....i'll let u know how it goes. i have a low pain tolerance and didnt want to do expanders....not a candidate for the fat from abdomen, and if i was a candidate i don't want abdominal surgery, even though those results might be more natural. it's amazing how many of us there are out there. i'm glad we have choices. this site is amazing....so much information......ally
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ally , u & i argree 100% please keep us posted & any tips would be great...
LADIES i keep reading on here there is a pix site for us to post our pix..i know on EC there is one thru 1 of the members..where is there 1 here?
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Hi Ladies,
Thanks so much for the support and encouragement! You made my journey of BC much easier! I'll let you know how I'm doing once I'm able to get online again!
take care,
Liz
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Ally, yes, I had my drain (fortunately I had only one on Mx side) when I was driving. You also asked about medium profile implants. My PS used smooth cohesive gel, round shape, medium profile Mentor implants. I asked her why medium, not high profile. She said because I am thin medium profile will provide more natural projection. I had 32B before, she used B size, now I am 36B and breasts are bigger than before.
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Hi Everyone,
Carole, I am so impressed... a published fiction writer! I told my DH I wanted to get one of your books. Around this time of year he pays close attention to my want list...possible birthday and Christmas presents! I might end up with an entire library of Carole Halston novels! Once we were in our local pet store around Christmas. I said, "that is the cutest little puppy I've every seen!" DH came home on Christmas Eve with that little puppy! The one in my picture.
I'm so happy for you that you are doing so well. You are a true inspiration to everyone. Enjoy your trip and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
We have so much to be thankful for!My oldest sister has restless leg syndrome. She tried a couple of drugs before she found the one that worked. I will ask her that she's taking.
Okiegal, I got a little worried when you mentioned a possible thyroid problem. I'm glad you're OK. Yikes! What's next! How are your nipples healing? Did your shape come back?
Fortunate1, I hope you did well at your show. Sorry to hear about your Dad caretaker. Finding proper care is a challenge.
Shoshi, If your reading from page 3 you will be well informed! I hope you're feeling better.
Ally, Good luck to you on the 20th. The "one step" will definitely leave you flat in front, but it's not noticeable when you're dressed. The right bra will help a lot.
If you have any questions please ask us. When I was told I had cancer I think I was in a state of shock. I thought the worst, but trusted that DCIS is in the earliest stage and having a bmx would be the cure. This was the first time I was not in control...there was nothing I could do to change it. I decided that I was going to get through this the best I could with no drama. I never cried.
I had great support from family and friends which meant everything to me. My DH took a leave from work to stay with me and I knew I would be OK. You will be OK too.
Liz, You will be OK too. I'm sorry you are going through this again. Let us know how you're doing.
I hope and pray you are all well!
I am more then tired! The Holiday Boutique sale was very busy in the morning and through lunch. In the afternoon things slowed down and we sat around a talked...It was a good time.
Being a paid employee is a lot different then being a volunteer! I was always conscientious about my job, but more relaxed as a volunteer. I will continue to work as long as I still enjoy it.
Back to work in the morning.
I hope you all have a good Monday!
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So much going on here!
The very best and most powerful healing thoughts I can muster are on the way to Liz.
Ally, you will be fine, surrounded with support from all of us. Waiting is the hardest part. Before surgery I had quite a few meltdowns of fear and utter frustration trying to get things scheduled. And like Carole, I was overwhelmed with relief after surgery. I had an absurdly easy recovery, and the outpouring of love from friends and family was truly amazing. I have never felt such support. Ask us anything. You have friends here.
I drove with drains after two weeks I think. I worked an easy teaching day at three weeks (no drains at that point). It was tiring.
Meg, glad to hear the Holiday Boutique went well. I love the camaraderie when a sale slows down.
My weekend worked out alright, but was very overloaded. My incredible husband helps me with the sale. It would be so much harder without him. We set up, I went to teach my class and came back in the late afternoon. Did it all over again on Sunday without the class. The tray I posted for you all sold and is on its way to Minnesota. I was Dad's caregiver overnight. I imagine it will be similar next weekend. Dad's caregiver was seriously injured and we're waiting for news. I'm finding myself very emotional about it all, and still feeling the strain of the 'cancerversaries' coming up. It makes me feel weak and foolish, but there it is anyway.
A beautiful Monday to all of you.
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fortunate 1....thanks so much for sharing that info.....i guess i had my first meltdown this past weekend......but thanks to all of you...i'm back on track.....ally
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Ally, I planned to stay home two weeks after surgery but actually stayed home four because I developed a seroma--a gathering of fluid between implant and muscle. The pressure from that was extremely painful because of the pressure it put on the stitches anchoring the alloderm pocket to the lining of the ribs. I had to have the seroma drained at the PS office, then take narcotic pain medicine and anti-inflammatories for the resulting swelling to heal over the next week or so.
Looking back, I think I could have gone back at two weeks if there had been no complications, but could have and should have are two different things. It was far too optimistic of me to think I could go back to full time in the classroom (teaching seventh grade) that soon, regardless of how slowly I thought I would move about or how careful I thought I could be to not strain my right arm muscles. The extra two weeks' rest I got from developing the seroma were a blessing.
When I did go back at four weeks post-op, I went back on a Thursday so as to ease back into the routine. Two days work followed by the two day weekend to recoup was perfect.
Being a nurse is such a physical job...and you are having a bilateral, right? I don't know if your sick leave allows you the freedom to take four weeks, but you might consider that. Some ladies have been able to go back at half-time for the first week or so...maybe that is an option?
At home, I had the help of my mother-in-law and husband for housework. My husband helped me with showering for the first few days, and my son visiting from college did my hair for me :- ) By day 5 or 6 I was feeling more independent and like I could find ways of moving my arm just so or bending just so in order to dress and groom and even lightly pick up around the house. The key was to not overdo...to take that shower, comb out my hair, get dressed and then go sit and watch a movie or read for a couple of hours. Big rest breaks between accomplishments!
One more thing--my drain came out at 9 days, after having had a 20 cc output for only a couple of days. I think if my drain had been left in longer--one woman said her PS insists on getting it down to a 10 cc output in a 24 hour period--that I would more likely not have developed the seroma. As uncomfortable as drains are, my being in a hurry to have mine pulled was a move I really regretted in the two weeks afterwards! The pain of that subsequent fluid build up was much worse than the pain of the drain tube.
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Liz, today was your big day, right? Guess you're in the hospital right now...thinking of you and hoping for a smooth recovery. Take good care of yourself.
Interesting how just typing that message and thinking of you in the hospital sends me back to my night in the hospital...I swear my breast is hurting right now thinking of it and my heart is beating faster! Eyes tearing up...jeesh! I was sincere in saying I was thinking of you but suddenly find myself thinking of me :- )
Hope all went well for you.
Tracy
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